Hollow Fragments
by Minesniper
Summary: Sequel to 'Tragic Assumptions'. What is it that can make you break? Ruby has been broken, and her soul is now shattered. Humanity is nearing the brink of extinction due to White Fang's attacks, and it seems like one special boy named Hunter Raines may be the only way to reform the pieces of a once legendary huntress. Eventual Whiterose. Credit goes to Dragon441 for the original.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is the first chapter of 'Hollow Fragment'. I am continuing Dragon441's story, and the first 3 chapters will be the ones he wrote. After that, it will be my writing, following the general plot he laid out. This is the sequel to 'Tragic Assumptions', which can be found on Dragon441's profile.**

 **As for these first few chapters, small changes will be made from the original for grammatical reasons, as well as anything I think needs changing, but it will all be fairly minor. Enjoy!**

 **[Edit] They're not dead, don't abandon me!**

 **It has come to my attention in various private messages and such that the first several chapters turn off a lot of readers because of the whole Weiss, Blake, and Yang are dead thing (among other issues, which also aren't the case as it turns out). I've been advised to tell you (despite spoilers) that they're alive.**

 **I wouldn't have agreed to this, but if you stick with it, you find out in only a few chapters anyways. The same shipping will continue from 'Tragic Assumptions'.** **Sorry again for spoiling that, but I've gotten some complaints that with them dead, the story isn't interesting. I'd much rather spoil 1 part that comes up very early, rather than have nobody read far enough to even see it.**

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(Chapter 1)

Hunter Raines grumbled to himself. He had been walking through the forest for hours now, and it seemed like he was on a streak of not finding anything. Half way through his thoughts, Hunter tripped over a large tree root and hit his knee on a rock.

"Damnit." He grit his teeth and stood back up, at this point he was searching since he had nothing else to do, rather than in hopes of actually finding anything. Slowly reaching the point at which he would give up the hunt, his thoughts turned towards home. _'Heh, home. Like you could call it a home.'_ Hunter laughed as he thought of his pitiful little shack that he and his mother lived in. It barely had enough room for one person to live there, never mind two.

But regardless of the size of his house, he knew that he had it better than most people. Ever since the great war on grimm five years ago, white fang had risen up and become extremely daring. Since then, there are daily killings, robbing's, kidnappings, and what ever else those sick maniacs could think of. It got to the point where there are fewer humans left than they ever could have imagined.

All the kingdoms had fallen, the White Fang didn't take power though, they just left the cities in ruin. Making no effort to rebuild or rally their people, the organization simply had its soldiers walk through the streets and take what they want. They did whatever they wanted unopposed, like Remnants largest street game in a globally sized neighborhood. Everyone was too scared to fight them, only a few humans were left, and if they were found in any major city, they didn't last long.

That was the entire reason that he was out here. There was a rumor that had been going round for years about a legendary warrior. Someone who could topple armies, the same person that led the war against grimm, had lived in this forest. So now here he was, in a stupid, cold, wet...

"Gah!" He yelled as he tripped again, muttering as he stood up. "Stupid forest." Suddenly, Hunter could hear a rustling noise behind him. He whirled around and waved his gun at the moving bush that was only a few feet away. A flash of black shot past his vision as he investigated closer. 'Was that, a beowolf?'

Since the war, sightings of any grimm were extremely rare, but Hunter also knew that even still, a few species could be found out in the middle of nowhere. _'Kind of like where I am right now.'_ After brief consideration, he decided that it would be best to try and avoid the beasts, after all he wasn't the best of fighters.

Hunter turned and ran in the opposite direction of the rustling bush, only to find that the sounds were following him. No matter how far he ran, it always seemed to be right behind him. Before long, he came across a house. It looked quite rotted , but even still felt quaint, homey even.

Frantic to avoid the group of beowolfs chasing him, Hunter ran directly into the house and closed the door. He took a few minutes to regain his breath before lifting from his slumped position. As he turned around, he had almost wish he hadn't. Behind him was a hidden figure with a blade pressed against his throat.

"Who are you and what do you want? You have about ten seconds to explain, then I kill you and toss you back out there." He was surprised to find that his attacker was female, but he did not have any plans on dying today.

"HunterRainesI'mlookingforsomeone!" The girl sighed and removed the blade before throwing him into the other room by his shirt.

"Say that again but slower."

"My name is Hunter Raines, and I'm in the forest because I'm looking for someone." She looked at him oddly.

"I'm the only one that lives in this forest."

"Then are you the one that I am looking for?" She threw her hands into the air.

"That depends, who are you looking for? I suggest that you answer wisely." He looked around nervously.

"Uhhh, Ruby Ro-?" Before the words could even finish leaving his mouth, the girl had grabbed him by the throat and had a knife pointed into his side.

"Not again!" he whimpered.

"Where do you know that name?" she hissed in his ear. By this point, Hunter was losing his mind in fear. He had been here for less than two minutes, and he had already been threatened with his life twice. Who knows how crazy this girl was. Seeing that he was hesitating, the girl began to dig the tip of the blade into his skin, causing him to yelp in pain.

"OK OK! It's from the legend of the grimm war. They say that she is one of the best recorded fighters ever." She sighed and dropped him, appearing to accept his answer as truth.

"You shouldn't believe all the legends you hear, some of them are no more than just that." At that moment, there was the sound of running feet in the back of the house. Moments later, a huge beowolf came toppling into the room, teeth arranged neatly as weapons of death. Hunter gasped in surprise and backed up into the wall. The girl however, didn't react at all. "Good job on bringing him in."

"Why are you petting that beowolf?!" She sighed exasperated, and turned towards him.

"This isn't a beowolf moron, this is Scruff." That's it, she was officially psycho. Hunter tried to get up nonchalantly, but the girl pointed what he assumed to be a fire arm at him. She pulled off her hood to reveal a mess of red and black hair. "Well, you wanted me, so what do you want?"

Hunter nearly fell back farther into the ground in surprise.

"Wait, wait, you're Ruby Rose?" She growled in annoyance.

"No, I asked you how you knew that name so forcefully because I'm her number one fan; what are you looking for, ID? Now what the hell do you want?" He sighed in defeat and reorganized his thoughts.

 _'Well, what do I have to lose now? Other than maybe my life...'_ Hunter stood up again. "My original plan was to ask if you could help Vale with White Fang so that people can live normally again. But I don't know how well that's going to work..."

"Good so you get it, now get out." Ruby turned away and went to walk away, but he reached up and grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait, what I was going to say was that just asking won't work, but maybe I can convince you." Ruby's eyes flashed in rage and she grabbed his hand before twisting it harshly.

"Don't you ever touch me." He yelped in pain and fell to his knees. After what seemed like an eternity she let him go. "Now get out, before I gouge your eyes out." She went to walk away again, but Hunter called out to her.

"Please, just hear me out. Please. There's someone I need to protect, and I need your help."

"I said no-"

"Please, just a few minutes." Ruby sighed, his stubbornness was annoyingly similar to that of Yang's.

"Fine, you have five minutes, convince me before it's over and I will help." He let out a breath of relief.

"Thank you, thank you. Well what I want to do is have you help us take down White F-"

"No." He gaped.

"But what about all the people who are suffering and dying?" Ruby shrugged.

"Not my problem, I live just fine."

"What about honor, what about protecting people?" Her eyes became lost in a moment of anguish, but returned to their red state quickly. Hunter could swear they were almost silver for a moment, but was gone as quickly as it came.

"My honor died along with the rest of me years ago. And I've learned since then that the real world isn't like a fairy tale." His interest piqued, but he had to convince her, so it could wait.

"That's why people like me, people like you, are supposed to fight to protect those who can't protect themselves." She cringed at the statement that was so similar to one that she had once said herself. In a last ditch effort, she closed her heart once again and hardened her eyes.

"I said no." He smiled inwardly, he had her.

"You also said I have five minutes." She grit her teeth, his arguing reminded her of Blake. Which was breaking down her defenses. "Listen, I don't know what happened to you all those years ago. I don't know what seems to have broken your spirit, but I still have reasons to fight. I want to protect the ones I love. I took a pretty big risk coming here, and I'm not going to let it go to waste because you want to sit around in this shack until the day you die."

Ruby sat silently. That last spiel was similar to one that Weiss had once given her on their travels, and the thought of Weiss completely broke her last wall.

"Get out." He was taken a back, she was still going to say no?

"What?"

"I said get out, if we're going, I need to change. And I swear to god if you try to peek, I'll rip your throat out and put it back in backwards." He squeaked and rushed out the door. But he was also relieved that she had agreed. Hunter sighed and slid down the outside wall of the building.

 _'Well done Hunter, could have gone better, but could have gone a hell of a lot worse.'_

Inside Ruby grumbled to herself.

"Some times I swear I'm too damn nice. How did I manage to be convinced by that idiot?" Moments later she emerged from the small house carrying a small bag and wearing a red and black combat skirt, followed by a completely black cape. Ruby also had a large mass of red and black steel attached to her hip. Hunter had no idea what it was, but assumed it was a weapon. Seeing that he wasn't moving yet, Ruby sighed and punched him in the stomach.

"OW!" She began walking with Scruff at her heels.

"Hurry up before I change my mind at kill you anyways." He scowled as he jogged to catch up to her.

"Are you going to be like this the whole way?"

"Are you going to piss me off the whole way?" He sighed again and admitted his defeat. It was going to be a long trip, likely filled with a lot of pain.

* * *

 **Well there you go, Dragon441 everybody! Hopefully I'll be posting my chapters shortly after these preexisting ones are up!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Once again, this chapter is Dragon441's work, with edits from me where I saw fit. This is the sequel to 'Tragic Assumptions', which can be found on Dragon441's profile. I encourage you to read that first.**

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(Chapter 2)

Ruby and Hunter walked in silence. It was obvious that neither of them were too keen with speaking with one another. For first impressions, Ruby was certainly quite a character. But it was almost like she was always angry, since leaving, she had already yelled at him several times for doing things that were really not all too bad. Once, he had tripped, and she went ballistic on him for wasting time. Not to mention the everlasting flow of death threats that it seemed she had been storing up for years, just to unleash on his weakening ears.

It had now been two days since they left the house, and for every moment of it, Hunter wondered.

 _'Is it really worth it?'_ He needed the girl's help, but it was starting to seem at this rate, she'd kill him and go back home before the day was over. A few dozen feet behind them, Hunter could hear the rustling of a bush. But now, after being yelled at for being stupid several times, he knew that it was only 'Scruff', and not a stalker or assassin. But still, he had to admit that they were making much better time getting back than he had getting there. _'At our current pace, we should make it back to the remains of Vale by nightfall.'_

Minutes turned to hours, and before he knew it, the sun was setting on the horizon. Sure enough, it was only a few more minutes until the city's remains could be seen. As she took her first few steps into the view of the city, her face darkened… If that was even possible. But slight recognition could be seen in her eyes.

"Get down."

"What?" Grunting with annoyance, she grabbed his collar and slammed him onto the ground, quickly following herself.

"Stay down and be quiet." After he nodded, Ruby turned around and crawled to the edge of the cliff and peered towards the city. A few seconds after, the sound of multiple gun shots firing rang through the air. But the girl frightened him more than the sound, so Hunter did not cry out in surprise. Ruby though, had seen the assailants before they had finished getting into position, so was easily able to get the two of them out of the way.

She turned to face him and mouthed the words, "Stay here." Before turning back and standing up. A few more shots could be heard, but Ruby didn't even seem to notice, and then she was gone. Hunter chanced a peek, and could see the red-headed girl at the bottom of the cliff, smashing two heads together. Upon further observation, Hunter realized that they were White Fang.

When she had finished making her way back up the mountain, Hunter stood up.

"The White Fang must have known what we were planning, more soldiers will likely follow them." Ruby nodded.

"It does seem likely. But I doubt they will be much of an issue." Hunter felt queasy at her comment, but said nothing. They continued to walk towards the city for a few minutes, trying to find the safe house that he knew would be there, but eventually Hunter's curiosity got the better of him.

"So did you really fight off the creatures of grimm single handed?" For the first time since he had met the girl, she cracked a smile, but quickly returned to her previous face of permanent scowling.

"No, that is not true. There were others."

"Where are they now?" Ruby glared at him, but turned back to the road.

"I almost killed you for tripping earlier today, you really think it's wise to start asking me questions about my past?" It was a painful subject for her. Seeing her team members fall in battle was the worst thing that had ever happened to her, so she avoided thinking about it. Ruby's thoughts were interupted by his never ending questions.

"So what were you like before?" She threatened him for not being clear before replying.

"What did I just tell you about asking me questions?"

"It's just... I have to know. You said you lost your honor years ago. What were you like before that?" She furrowed her brow and continued to walk in silence. "Alright so you don't want to talk about yourself, you don't want to talk about your friends, absolutely nothing about your past; what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's talk about which method I should use to kill you." He raised his hands in defeat.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." They continued to walk in silence for hours, Ruby continuosly thinking about Weiss, Blake and Yang. She grit her teeth harder and harder the more she thought, but was interupted eventually. "So where are we going now? This certainly isn't the way to White Fang." Her eyes flared harshly for being interupted in her thoughts.

"You said you would stop."

"That was four hours ago. Now listen I know you don't like me, but we have to talk at some point. It's sort of required when travelling together." She stopped and dropped her bag, Scruff quickly running over and dropping off the tent he had strapped to his back. Ruby began setting it up and she spoke.

"You're right, you should go home. I'll deal with this alone." He huffed and grabbed the other end of the tent to help.

"You know that isn't what I meant." She glared at him for touching her tent without asking, but continued.

"Yes I realize that, but you should go home anyways, you'll just slow me down." He grinned.

"Oh really? And do you know where White Fang is right now? How do you plan on doing this without me?" Ruby scoffed at him.

"I have people who know more than you about them, and can protect themselves much better." He sarcastically nodded as they continued to set up the tent.

"I'll have you know that I can defend myself pretty well. I happen to be top of my class back in training school." She laughed at him, a cold, hard laugh.

"You wouldn't last five minutes in half the situations I've been in."

"Maybe, but I'll last more than five minutes in the situations you will be in." Ruby sighed as they finished, and quickly pulled out Crescent Rose.

"I'll make you a deal. You survive one hit from me, and you can come with me where ever I go." He looked at her cautiously, it was the first he had seen of the scythe. It was mostly black, and looked sharp enough to cut a breath of air. But after consideration he pulled out his own weapon, a simple looking sword.

"Deal. I live, and I come. I die and you can do whatever you want."

"I do whatever I want anyways, the only difference is whether you are there or not." She raised the scythe high above her head.

"Oh one more thing. As a bonus, if I win, you have to tell me something about yourself." Ruby rolled her eyes and dove into the air. She shot four bullets behind her as she reached the height of her arc and activated her semblance, flying at Hunter with unbelievable speed. His sword was already raised, as it was when she first jumped, but she aimed directly at it.

The whizzing blade of Crescent Rose easily slipped through the metal of the sword, completely severing it in half. However the swing of her blade stopped as it reached his body. Ruby was startled, she hadn't meant to stop it, the blade just refused to penentrate his skin. The clothing he wore was cut as it should be, only he wasn't.

He stepped back when she retracted her weapon with a grin on his face. "I win." She looked at him with mild interest.

"That's your semblance? You can't be cut?" He laughed and picked up the halves of his sword.

"Not exactly. My semblance is that my body's aura will match that of whatever is attacking me. My real bet was whether your weapon was made of metal or aura, and I won the bet. You see something I learned it that you can't hurt yourself with your own aura, so I use that to protect myself." She thought for a moment.

"Does that mean your raw power is that of whoever you are fighting?"

"Well, that of whoever I used my semblance on last, and I must say that you're stronger than I thought. This power I feel right now is ridiculous." She sighed and put away Crescent Rose.

"It's a shame I held back, if I didn't you would have died anyways." He jumped a little in surprise.

"You mean that wasn't as hard as you could go?"

"Of course not, if what you say is true and I had of used my full strength, it's likely your body couldn't handle it and would start shutting down completely." He shuddered a bit, not wanting to picture that happening. "But a deal's a deal. We'll camp for the night and continue in the morning."

Ruby crawled into her tent as Scruff settled his body around it. Hunter looked around uncomfortably.

"So, uhh, where do I sleep?"

"You're body, you're problem." He sighed and lied on the cold ground. Ruby opened her eyes hours later as the light of the sun shone through the thin wall of her tent. As she emerged, Ruby saw Hunter cuddled against the tail of Scruff, who was also snoring. Rolling her eyes she packed up the tent and killed several deer before dragging them back to camp. When she made her way back, she saw Hunter and Scruff both sitting up expectantly. One of them was looking at the meat drooling, the other was Scruff.

Giving a large portion of the deer to Scruff, Ruby cooked the remaining animal over a small fire and handed half to Hunter. "You have five minutes before we leave, be ready." He nodded and slammed his meat into his face, devouring it as fast as he could. When they were back on the road, Hunter repeated his question from the night before.

"So where are we going exactly?" Ruby grinned evilly.

"I have a few old friends that I need to meet up with for this to happen." He shuddered a bit, wondering what these friends could be like.

"Well who's the first one?" She laughed.

"Oh no one. Just a certain someone I met in jail."

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 **Yay, two chapters down, now I just need to edit number three, and write new ones. Hope you're enjoying it, as always, credit goes to Dragon441 for the original story, the first few chapters of this one, and for the overall plot for this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The final chapter consisting of Dragon441's writing. After this, it'll be me. These first three chapters are probably going to be the shortest, as I write somewhat longer chapters. That said, enjoy!**

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(Chapter 3)

"I swear to god if you trip or stumble one more time, I will send this knife through your stomach." Hunter quickly picked himself up following the terrifying girl's comment.

"Alright, alright I'm going. So how much farther up is this place anyways?" Ruby sighed but kept walking.

"At the pace we're going; we might make it there in a week." Hunter stopped in his tracks, but resumed quickly after seeing her glare.

"It's that far?" She nodded.

"Not to mention the trip back." He let out a breath of defeat. However, after a few minutes of walking, he resumed the conversation.

"Is there anything we can do to make it go faster?" Ruby tossed her travelling bag to the side and turned around. By the smirk on her face he could tell that this was something he probably wouldn't enjoy. However the idea was bringing great amusement to Ruby as she played it out in her head.

"If you're up for it, I can get us there within the hour. What do you say?" She could see in his face how curious he was, so she knew that it would probably end up happening. He however was a little slower getting to that realization.

"How?" Ruby's mood was fading fast at his stupid questions.

"Have you even seen me fight? My semblance is speed. You have three seconds, either you come with me or I go anyways." His arguments were hushed by her counting down from three, and he quickly agreed. Seeing that he was coming, Ruby smiled and nodded towards Scruff, who came tumbling over.

"I thought you were going to use your speed." She looked at him with utmost condescension.

"And what? You thought I was going to carry you? Now shut up and get on the dog." Ruby quickly fastened everything they had to Scuff's sides, and climbed on herself. Giving him a bit of a kick, they were off. However they were going much slower than Hunter had expected.

"This is going to get us there within the hour?" She grinned.

"I may have exaggerated the distance a tad. But if it's fast you want, then alright." Ruby closed her eyes for a moment, then shot a powerful wave of her aura through the massive dog, and his speed was increased exponentially in seconds. They bounded across the roads and fields, not giving heed to any that they passed.

As they rode, Ruby glanced back at Hunter, and as expected, he was holding on by a thread. His legs were flailing wildly around behind them, but he kept a tight grip on Scruff's tough fur. With a look of disappointment she directed her attention back to where they were going. After about thirty to fourty minutes of sprinting, they slowed to a light trot.

Ruby pulled on Scruff's hair a bit, signaling to stop. A moment later she was sliding off his back and looking at a nearby house. Hunter however, was having a bit more trouble, his legs being completely numb. In the doorway, Ruby could see a small figure standing.

"Ruby!" The small boy waved excitedly. She dashed towards him quickly.

"Roll!" He stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't go by that name anymore. Call me Marvin."

"I'd sooner stab you to death than call you Marvin, you short bastard." He grinned and gave her a hug.

"Then I'm taking you with me you crazy bitch." The two of them laughed and went inside the small house. At this point, Hunter had managed to get off of Scruff, but nearly fainted after seeing Ruby actually laugh. Quickly hurrying to catch up, he ran into the house to find Ruby and "Roll", talking to a man with gray hair and a coffee mug.

"I see you managed to survive the war Ms. Rose."

"As did you Professor Ozpin." He laughed.

"That is true, however I am aware of your situation. It's obvious that more than just your team mates died in that attack." Ruby's face went from smiling to growling in less than a moment. "My point exactly." With a small glare and a humph, she turned away and sat at their dining room table. Marvin took a chair across from hers.

"So what brings you all the way out from your hobbit hole?" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I like it. That house is the only reason I'm still sane." Hunter had been taking a drink of water, but spurt most of it out when he heard her words. Without even looking back, she fluidly pulled out her knife and whipped it backwards, pinning his shirt to the wall. "You don't count, you're what makes me less sane."

"How do I make you less sane?" His face white, still in shock from the knife.

"You piss me off, I don't like your face, you seem to do everything in your power to make my life more difficult." Ignoring his complaints, Ruby reverted her attention to Marvin and Ozpin. "So how did you two manage to get out of your illegal status that the White Fang put on you?" Marvin nodded to Ozpin, signaling him to explain.

"Well you see Ms. Rose, we did something that's probably pretty similar to what you did. We ignored the status and continued our lives, as there wasn't much they could do about it." Ruby snorted.

"So the organization that nearly killed the human race can't stop you from living happily, but when I do something wrong I get an entire army on my ass? How is that fair?" He laughed heartily.

"Well put. So how have you been doing for these past years?" She shrugged, a calm look coming across her face.

"It's been quiet. I like it quiet." Ozpin's eyebrow arched.

"Quiet? So they haven't even tried to come after you?" Her calm look turned demonic. The ravenous face of a blood thirsty devil made it's home on her usually cute face.

"Nope. When I got back from the war, I killed every person who saw me until my existence was forgotten completely." Having been previously aquainted with a nearly full red Ruby, Ozpin was not very shocked, and Marvin had helped her commit inhuman acts to get out of jail. Hunter however, had never seen her quite to this extreme, and it scared him. What if this lunatic went on a rampage? And how many has she already done?

"Wait, that forest wasn't that far from a few villages, do you mean you killed anyone who came from one of those too?" Ruby just shrugged.

"Don't worry, she doesn't hurt people she likes." Marvin's words surprised Hunter a little.

"Careful what you say there little man, I will remove your organs before I will start liking that dumbass." Marvin laughed.

"See? She threatens everyone, it's just those who aren't killed that you know she likes." He glanced at her face. "And I think I know why too." Her face became somber and panicked.

"Please... don't..."

"He reminds you of them, doesn't he?" Ruby's eyes drooped and she hung her head a little. Taking that as a clear answer, Marvin redirected his attention. "Back on the subject at hand, why did you come? I seriously doubt it was for a friendly visit." She nodded.

"I have a favor to ask you." Professor Ozpin chirped in.

"Ah, so this is where things become interesting." He glanced at Marvin for a moment before continuing. "We'll help you." Hunter was flabbergasted, it had been much more difficult to convince Ruby, but they agreed without even knowing what it was. Ruby however, understood how they felt. After a while of trying and failing, the White Fang stopped coming for them. However that didn't mean that they could live completely freely. In other words; they were bored.

"So what's this grand scheme you have planned up?" Looking around, Ruby shook her head.

"Let's talk on the way. Someone was bound to have reported the so called, "beowolf," that's been running around, so it probably won't be long before some form of authorities show up. The two of them nodded and stood up. Five minute later they each had a small bag and one medium bag that they shared. Walking from the house, Marvin pulled the knife from Hunter's shirt to let him down. Despite her efforts, he also noticed her small huff of disappointment.

"So where to first Ms. Rose?" She smiled.

"I think there's one more friend that I need to get the help of before we will actually be able to accomplish anything." The others nodded and began packing their bags onto Scruff and walking along side him. Not long after they left, Ozpin pulled Ruby to the side somewhat.

"I'm sure that whatever the task is, it will be difficult. Or else you wouldn't need any help at all. But are you sure that you'll be able to pull it off without your full power?" She grit her teeth.

"The problem is, my emotional state hasn't been like it was that day for the past five years, and I doubt that anything could trigger it anymore. So to be honest, I'm almost certain I can't." He smiled, and reached inside his pocket.

"I guess we're just going to have to restore your prior self then, now aren't we?" Ruby glanced at him with curiosity.

"Is it even possible to restore a shattered soul?" Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he held up an object to Ruby. The object shone a brilliant pink, and had no blemishes at all. She couldn't tell what it was or what it was made out of, but she was drawn to it.

"Take it. It's a part of your soul." Ruby was startled, so he continued. "When it shattered, the pieces had to go somewhere. I believe that they all went to the different people you loved and cared about, all the people you met along your travels. Marvin over there has one too, and we've kept it as a good luck charm until you got back."

"How do you know all this, and how'd you get it into a physical object?" He gave her a small pat of the head and placed the soul fragment in her hand. Within a moment, it sank into her skin and became nothing more than a memory.

"You have to remember Ruby, I have seen your pink form as well as your red. It's not just something that can be replicated or forgotten. This small shard was no doubt a part of your soul. As for how it's solid, when Roll and I felt a change in us, and we were surrounded by a pink glow, we were able to channel it out of ourselves. To get it back in you, though, will be more difficult." Ruby closed her hand and looked into the sky.

"So I really can go back. Back to who I was."

"Unfortunately, you can't. There are some damages that cannot be repaired. You can however, become much closer to your former self than you are now." He smiled at her as they continued their trek towards a land which only Ruby knew. And this time, she was full of hope.

* * *

 **So that happened. Goodbye original author's work, you will be missed. Hopefully within the next week or two I'll have the first of my chapters out. See you then!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay! My first chapter of this story. First and foremost, I feel a lot of pressure to do this well, since not only is it continuing a story I like, but it's also continuing someone ELSE'S story. If it were mine, I'd be okay if it sucked, but since I'm trying to write this as well as Tragic Assumptions, I need all the reviews I can get. Point out EVERYTHING that's wrong with it. I always go back and fix small things like grammatical mistakes, and I try to fix larger issues in later chapters.**

 **Anything wrong with it? Please review or PM me, and let me know. Don't worry about being gentle or supportive, I can handle criticism; hence why I'm encouraging it! That being said, here is the fourth chapter of Hollow Fragments!**

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(Chapter 4)

The five of them; Hunter, Ruby, Ozpin, Marvin, and Scruff had been travelling all day. From leaving Ozpin and his nephew's home earlier that week, they had traveled back towards The forest in which Hunter had found Ruby. Instead of heading to her home though, they continued forwards. Day after day they trudged towards an unknown location that Ruby was intent on reaching quickly.

Over the days, they had passed through many areas that Hunter had never seen the likes of before. They had traveled from the rolling hills which Ozpin had called home, to more treacherous land. They were often walking along the border between a steep hill, and a sheer cliff face, with the narrow path in-between being the only stable ground. The group wandered through a desert, and were currently on a high ridge-line surrounded by clouds.

Hunter was tired. Unlike Ruby and Ozpin he hadn't received hunter training; unlike Marvin, he hadn't spent the majority of his life in a high security compound where inmates were killed daily for the other prisoner's amusement; and certainly unlike Scruff, he wasn't some strange beowolf-dog combination, the origin of which still perplexed him. The arduous trek through the tree covered hills had nearly caused him to collapse from exhaustion on multiple occasions.

Hours later, they had descended from the mountainous ridge, and found themselves in a valley's forest. Dark green leaves obscured much of the sky, hiding the sun's last rays of light. Following paths seemingly formed by animals that had passed through there before, they made their way through the thick underbrush, little was said while they traversed the landscape for the past few days. They only spoke once camp was set up, or if Ruby felt the need to yell at Hunter again.

The small group wandered from the woods into a patch of tall grass. The tan blades reached as high as Hunter's knees, brushing against his legs as the travelers waded through the field. He was being run ragged by the unending walk, and nearly tripped on a loose rock that had been dislodged from the ground. True to form, Ruby quickly snapped at him.

"Hurry it up moron. He's around here somewhere, and I'd rather not have to set up camp for the night when we're so close. Time is a luxury we don't have, and adding a day onto our trip could cause us problems later on!" Hunter could only groan in protest.

"Please, calm down Ms. Rose," Ozpin said calmly, "he is doing the best that he can."

Ruby snorted, "that's the _problem_ professor, if this is the best he can do, then he won't stand a chance with us. He should just go home; we can't afford to be slowed down by him, we might _already_ be too late. The last time I was contacted was five years ago. I'm not even sure he's still around here; Hell, until he reached out to me, I didn't even know he was alive."

Hunter's frustrations came to the front of his mind, and began to cloud his judgment. _'Who is this 'he', how'd he contact her, why won't she explain anything to me?'_ He knew she had her reasons, but even still, Ruby's stubborn refusal to let him know anything about her simply because he wasn't as strong as the others was obnoxious to say the least.

Hunter sighed, he knew that these three were much faster, stronger, probably even smarter than he was. But he had nothing to go back to; at best, he'd live out a few more years of his life in a small shack with his mother, until eventually the White Fang stumbled across them, killed them and burned the cottage down.

He felt anger boiling up inside him. _'I've left my home, my family, I've come out all this way to try and save the world from the White Fang, and some 20 year old psychopath is telling me just to go home and forget everything I put into this!?'_ Something inside him snapped, maybe it was the gravity of the situation, or maybe it was how indifferent this girl was to the safety of the world. It may have simply been the infinite pools of threats and insults that Ruby seemed to draw from to shut him down any time he had a question or a favor to ask, but Hunter couldn't keep quiet anymore

"No! I took that hit from you and lived, whether or not you held back. I've earned my place here and I'm with you whether you like it or not! Now stop complaining, and just get over it. I'm not leaving 'till we bring down the White Fang or die." Hunter was shocked at the words coming out of his mouth, but it was too late. He'd just said _that_ to Ruby Rose, the girl who killed anyone she saw for years to remain hidden; another thing he'd ruined up for her.

Ozpin raised his eyebrows in surprise, Marvin donned a look or horror, Scruff made a deep, guttural growl. However, the most extreme reaction came from the huntress that had just been yelled at. While nothing he said was a direct insult to her, the tone and the defiance his words held angered Ruby greatly.

As soon as the words left his lips, Ruby froze. She turned around slowly, as if in shock, and began to stalk towards him, holding the compact form of her scythe by her side. She stopped several feet away, held the weapon out, and pressed a button. Instantly the long black handle shot outwards, with the spear-tipped pommel of the weapon stopping just inches from the man's throat.

"What did you say?" Ruby whispered almost inaudibly.

' _Well, I'm screwed. Might as well go for broke, at least my last words won't be cries for mercy.'_

"I don't know what turned you from the girl who wiped out the Grimm to a pathetic _waste_ sitting alone in some hovel in the middle of the godforsaken wilderness, but I don't care! In just a couple of days, we already have two more people with us. We're damn close to getting a third person according to you, and after that, who knows! Like it or not girlie, I'm going to see this through dammit!"

Raines resisted the urge to close his eyes and cower in fear. He knew what he'd said crossed a line. _'Not a line, I just hopped across every line there is like I was playing a game of hopscotch!'_ Suddenly the cold metal was pulled back into the weapon as it transformed into its gun form. Ruby fired three shots in rapid succession towards the man who had just stood up to her. Hunter's eyes widened.

' _Well, that was fast, not even a week and a half, and she's shot me. Maybe I never stood a chance of getting her to help, I just wished that-'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of several _thumps_ as three bodies fell from the trees behind the terrified man.

"The White Fang have finally caught up with their reported 'beowolf', _we_ will talk later. Until then, I don't care if you die, but don't get in our way."

With that the black-cloaked girl shot off in a cloud of rose petals, slashing at targets Hunter couldn't even see in the darkness. The only indication she met any marks were the sounds of flesh being cut apart, and wails of agony from the faunus who had tried to sneak up on them.

The old headmaster reversed his grip on his cane, and quickly formed a glyph on the ground. "Glynda taught me one or two things over the years." He said with a smile. Despite the fact Hunter had no idea who this 'Glynda' was, he thanked her. From the symbol on the ground, a ball of light floated unto the air, illuminating the clearing, and revealing the gunmen that had surrounded them.

Ruby was tearing through them like a monster, but she was getting shot, quite a lot. Her aura was bright but it quickly began to fade as dust round after dust round impacted against her.

Ozpin strode towards a group of soldiers emerging from the trees. Marvin ran towards Ruby to help her. Hunter drew a sword that had been given to him, in place of the one Ruby sliced in two. It was heavier than he was used to, but it was sharper, made of a stronger metal, and had the added bonus of coming with a nice sheath.

Hunter quickly ducked as he heard a roar and knew that Ruby's dog was charging forward. Scruff leapt over the bent-over man and plowed straight through a firing line of White Fang soldiers. It began slicing through the ranks of the faunus left and right before they even knew what was happening.

While Hunter ran into a small crowd of the attacking faunus, hacking and slashing with his new blade, the battle was quickly coming to a close around him. Ozpin's attackers laid slain, how he had avoided being killed by their barrage of bullets, and taken them out was anybody's guess.

The scythe wielding girl would appear in one place, swinging her weapon in a sweeping motion around her, cutting down any White Fang unfortunate enough to be within roughly 8 feet of her, then disappearing into a cloud of petals yet again, leaving them wondering where the next arc of death would come from.

Marvin was just about to retract his blades into their gun form to fire some more, when he looked over at Ruby. She had returned her weapon to it's gun form, and was firing at a group of White Fang that had entered the clearing on the opposite side. Through the smoke of all the gun-fire, a small red line was visible pointed at Ruby's back. Following back to its source, an eagle faunus with a sniper rifle was taking aim at the huntress.

He dashed towards her, jumping over a White Fang soldier; doing a roll in the air, firing downwards at the enemy, before landing. As soon as he got near, he jumped in front of her, just as a dust bullet destined for her shoulder was fired.

Hunter watched as the boy cried out in pain as the shot hit him in the side, before he fell to the ground. The wounded kid took aim with his matching pistols and shot at the faunus who had injured him. While he from his range, he couldn't hit the sniper, it was enough to make him turn and run. The few White Fang still around took off into the forest, with so many of them decimated, they knew the jig was up. The survivors fled with Scruff hot on their heels, eviscerating the slower ones.

The traveling group all ran up and huddled around Marvin. Ozpin put down a glyph that seemed to quiet the boy's gasps of pain, while Hunter began to bandage the wound. "What was that!? Ruby still had some aura, and you could have put up yours! On top of that, in order to take a bullet for her, you ran across a field and dove in front of it, receiving an even worse injury! What is wrong with you?"

"Apparently, you have not had too much experience with White Fang operatives lately." Ozpin said, his voice laced with concern for his nephew. "Their more specialized soldiers are provided black dust rounds to ignore auras, and inflict damage directly to the target. As for taking the bullet for her, that can be attributed to the fact he will recover from this _much_ quicker than Ms. Rose would."

Hunter was confused. "Why, can't Ruby just heal it with her aura? Even I know that aura can speed of the healing process considerably; and she's got the strongest one I've ever seen! Just how long she lasted against those rifles proves it." Ruby looked up at him.

"Aura does help heal wounds usually, but these two know something you don't. If you're this intent on sticking with us, then you'd need to know eventually." Ruby sighed. "I'm not going to explain everything to you, since I don't like to talk about it, and you piss me off so much,-"

"Hey!"

"- but I can't heal with aura. I lost a lot of things on one horrible day. Among those, was my aura's healing capabilities. The only reason we're coming out here, is I know someone who may be able to fix that. They reached out to me with their aura back when I killed all of those Grimm, but as you know, I wasn't very interested in going anywhere. That's why we've spent the whole day wandering around here, we're looking for a way to fix _yet another_ broken part of me."

Ruby spit out the last line bitterly. She was mad; mad that someone had to get hurt to protect her, again. Mad that someone else was wounded when it was her fault, yet she couldn't help at all, again. Mad that a person she cared about was in agony and all she could do is hope others could take care of them better than she could, _again_.

She stood up and walked a few paces away from the group. Scruff came up to her, blood of the faunus still slicking down his fur in patches across his body. She scratched him behind his ear as she stood there, thinking about all the times someone was hurt because of her, all the times someone sacrificed to get her out of trouble, she thought about every time someone risked their life to make hers better.

After a few minutes of thought on the less than cheerful topic, she remembered what she had been doing before the attack. Remembering the comments Hunter had made, she felt anger growing in her. His new-found temper like Yang's, his drive to do whatever he felt he had to reminding her of Blake. The stubbornness he he had turned her thoughts to Weiss. Thinking about the white haired girl she had loved brought on a new surge of hate.

Ruby felt as if this man was created entirely to make her existence a living hell. He was so similar to her teammates and friends she couldn't hurt him, but every time he spoke, it was a painful reminder of what had happened. In under a week and a half, that man had dragged her from her home, gotten Ozpin and Roll in on his plan as well, and even now she couldn't fight against him. It would be like attacking those who'd stood by her to the end. As her frustration grew, she focused on the one responsible for her new-found levels of suffering.

"And you…" Ruby spun on her heel and faced Hunter Raines. "You will never speak like that to me again, you will never _ever_ talk to me as if you understand what I've been through. The _only_ reason you are alive right now is you're halfway through bandaging Roll. You have until you've finished giving him medical attention to give me a good reason you should live, before I separate your head from your body and leave it here with the corpses of the White Fang!"

Before Hunter could even begin to think of a response, a single figure emerged from the tree line on the other end of the clearing. When Ruby saw it, she froze. From what he could tell, the person who had just emerged was a large man with bulging muscles. Hunter couldn't tell what their face looked like, since much of them was obscured by the large black cloak they wore.

Turning back to the huntress he sought out, Raines looked for an explanation as to who this was. _'She seems to recognize him, is this who we were supposed to meet?'_

"No, it can't be, you… you died! He told me I didn't have to worry about you anymore, that you were gone!"

Hunter knew something was wrong. Very little could unnerve the girl. While she seemed angered at his arrival by the tone of her voice, Ruby's eyes deceived her; this wasn't hatred. Hunter saw something he'd never imagined seeing in her eyes. He'd seen anger, sadness, happiness; but this was something different entirely…

It was _fear_.

Ruby was for one of the first times in her life, afraid. Because she _thought_ she knew what this man was capable of, but his very survival proved one thing. The compound inmate from six-four was much more dangerous than she'd ever imagined.

* * *

 **So yeah, he's alive. I promise next chapter, pretty much everything is getting explained. I am going to try for one or two chapters a month from here on out, however I should mention the next chapter _may_ take longer, simply because I don't like it. It's basically all exposition, and most of it through dialogue. I'm trying to cut back on the speaking and exposition, but it's hard since it will explain almost everything you need to know for 20-30 chapters.**

 **So yeah, I have 'finished' writing it, but I will be editing and redoing it for a while. It's hard to make interesting, and I'm genuinely considering putting in bullet points that explain what you need to know at the bottom in case you feel like skipping it. I always hate exposition, but I can't really find a way around it. Luckily once it's done, I can go back to writing the story, and stop being so secretive about everything.**

 **Once again, comment, PM me, do whatever. Pretend you're a five year old YouTube commenter who's found my work; GO NUTS! Honestly, my favorite comment that I've received at this point was from someone who pointed out three problems with my story, even though two were actually fine, and one was a grammatical mistake I immediately fixed.**

 **Thanks,**

 **Minesniper**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ugh, so here it is, chapter 5.**

 **Not hugely impressed with my work here, but from day one, I knew this was going to be the one that got me. They say we're our own worst critics, and I hope that's true; otherwise I may disappoint some of you. This one wasn't fun to write, and I can't say how good a read it will be. Fortunately and unfortunately, it's mostly exposition through dialogue. Unfortunate because it's not something I enjoy reading, but fortunate because that means I don't have to do anything like this for a _long_ time. Yay!**

 **I will respond to a guest's comment at the end. I encourage all of you to read it.**

 **That said, I hope it's not as bad as I've been presenting it thus far, enjoy.**

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(Chapter 5)

"You… You died…. He said you were gone, I know it was him! How are you alive!?" Ruby was backing up when a sound from overhead caught everyone's attention. A huge black mass soared overhead, a shrill screech coming from its maw.

"The guardian too? But… how?"

The humongous shape landed in the clearing. Covered in dark green scales, the 20 foot tall dragon-like creature had intricate black and red designs decorating its body. Its large spiked tail whipped back and forth; occasionally hitting, and demolishing, a tree.

"Calm, Ruby." The man standing next to it said in a voice that almost sounded as if two were speaking in unison. "The convict's soul and mine merged. That day we disappeared, he had been making an attempt to not only reclaim his aura, but mine as well; and all the power that came with them."

The man explained that through his actions, he had unintentionally bound the two souls, and bodies, together. "These forms are both controlled as one."

Ruby, now somewhat more composed, but still cautious, asked, "How does that work, do you have both personalities, and you need to repress him?"

While the two spoke, the dragon-like monster patrolled the edge of the clearing, Hunter assumed that it couldn't talk.

"No, a personality is forged by a person's experiences and memories. When our souls merged, we became one being, combining our minds. While the convict contributed to who we have become, my life outweighs his. He lived for decades, the wyvern had existed for eons. All that he had seen and done was nothing to that of what a guardian experiences. His influence on what we have become is minor, but not nonexistent."

Ruby, whether or not she understood what he meant by all of that, seemed more interested in something else. "Why did you call to me from so far away, why did you want to bring me here?"

The creature -which by this point had thoroughly confused Hunter- replied to her. "Years ago there was a shift in the balance of this world. It was as if nearly all the evil of the Grimm was smashed, scattered across Remnant in all directions. The darkness gone from one form, but covering the land in an oppressive veil. All guardians must have felt this, but I felt something more change. The reason I spared you and your friends so long ago; there were two parts to you when last we met, since that day I can only feel one."

Ruby's head lowered, not willing to say anything. She turned towards Hunter and gave him a glare that clearly said _'Go find something to do away from me. This is private'_. Hunter was all too happy to further the distance between himself and the girl, but watched the scene from afar.

"I see you have already discovered parts of your shattered soul, I wonder if you know where to find others." Ruby fiddled with the small pink shards in her pocket.

Ruby looked up, she would have been hopeful, had she not been proven time and time again the only purpose of it was to set you up for disappointment. "I have some ideas, but I don't know where the recipients would be. I also don't know how to return it to myself."

The man wore an expression of confusion on his face, "you have only retrieved these two, I remember at least three friends with you, why have you not collected your fragments from all of them?"

The girl's face darkened significantly before continuing in a hushed voice. "These two are from Ozpin and Roll. How, in all your infinite wisdom, did you manage to miss the deaths of said 'friends'? What do you think it was that did this to me? A leviathan shot a fireball at them the size of a damn city. I saw myself lose everything I cared about in just seconds, it takes a lot to fragment a _soul_."

The two bodies of the guardian quickly trained their vision on the small huntress. "Be mindful of your wording when you answer, little one. When _exactly_ did your soul break?"

Ruby thought carefully for a minute before responding "The second I realized I was the only one who could have escaped the blast radius. They had no way to dodge, it was too big, and they barely had any aura left at all. That's when it seemed like there was nothing left in the world to live for, I almost felt like I should have joined them. That feeling I've been dealing with ever since."

The dragon began walking around the clearing as if pacing, the convict looked at her deep in thought. _'While it is rare I would feel the passing of any ordinary human, they were with this girl, who is the first I have ever stood to defend. I should have felt their loss, but… Now I understand.'_

The man walked over to the huntress and said something quietly. Watching from afar, the other members of the group took note of her reaction.

The young woman suddenly stopped moving, while Hunter and the others had heard neither what the man nor Ruby had been saying, they all took note when her head snapped up towards the imposing figure of the wyvern and she stood still. All of a sudden her legs gave way, and she was kneeling, as if she'd been struck in the head.

Intrigued as to what happened. Ozpin carefully strolled over to the scythe-wielder. They graying old man walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ms. Rose, are you alright?"

Ruby looked up at him in pure shock. "They're alive, professor…. My team is alive…."

Ozpin looked up at the beast, asking how this could be so. "She claims her pure aura shattered when she knew her friends were to be killed, being the most important people in the world to her, they would have received by far the largest pieces of her fractured spirit. Having overheard your earlier conversation, I can assume it was this aura that provided her with unparalleled healing capabilities."

Ozpin shook his head in marvel, as he understood where the guardian was going with this. He turned to his nephew and beckoned him over. When Marvin arrived, the former headmaster knelt down, and began to speak to him in hushed tones.

Hunter hated this. Something was happening, something big, and yet all he could do was stand there and hope one of them deemed it worthwhile to fill him in. Ruby was frozen in shock at something, and the old man was explaining something to the boy, excitement evident on the younger of the two's face.

"When that fireball hit, it finally broke your friend's auras. However, unlike anyone before them, they had a second one residing within them; or rather, fragments of a second one. When their own auras gave out, the pieces of your soul within them took their place. The aura of your purely innocent soul, despite being only part of you, is one of the most exceptional I have ever sensed. It protected them, and what it could not protect was most likely healed quickly. As to where they went as you slaughtered the Grimm responsible for their injuries, I cannot say. I would suspect they were brought back to civilization by one of the many people who must have gone out to retrieve the wounded after the battle."

Ruby's could feel tears welling up in her eyes as her two friends, Ozpin and Roll came over to her, and put their arms around her shoulders. Scruff came up and nuzzled the girl, and even Hunter came closer, but still kept his distance; just in case.

"But why didn't they ever come looking for me, never show up anywhere?" Ozpin spoke up behind her, clearly understanding the situation by now. Hunter didn't know what was going on however. _'Who's they, what could possibly have this much of an impact on this psychotic killer?'_

"Aside from the fact you sealed yourself in a forest, killing any who saw you for half a decade, making it incredibly hard for _anyone_ to find you, I doubt you would know if they ever showed their faces. You had no contact with Remnant since you decided to shut yourself away." Pausing for a moment, Ozpin took a breath, "my guess, though, is that it relates to your aura being the active one for them, am I correct?" He finished this question turning to face the two vessels for the guardian.

The convict spoke up. "Indeed, one fragment of a soul cannot support conscious thought, however it will keep them very much alive. So long as they still had food, and water provided to them from basic hospital equipment, they could survive indefinitely in a coma-like state."

' _I still don't understand most of what's happening. Someone Ruby is close to has part of her soul and is in a coma? What the hell is going on?'_ "Uh, mind filling me in guys?"

Ruby turned to him, her face had a genuine smile on it. Her eyes brimming with hope, for once he saw what looked like an overjoyed little girl standing in the place of a cold murderous woman. Ruby Rose did the last thing he ever expected from a huntress of such a legendary reputation, never mind the dangerous killer he'd seen in her up to this point.

The girl gave him a hug. An actual hug. When she started coming towards him, he thought she'd finally snapped and was going to kill him, but before he had a chance to run, she reached him and wrapped her arms around him.

Releasing the bewildered man, the huntress stepped back, sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes. Looking back up at him, the relief and joy on her face made evident that she'd just received news that could not be matched in terms of the happiness it brought.

Finally speaking, Ruby addressed the confused man, explaining her sudden change in character.

"I can finally fix everything, and the second I do Hunter, I promise that you'll get what you want. You still pissed me off like none other since I've met you,-"

"Come on! This was going so well!"

"- but if you hadn't gotten me out here, I would have lost my only chance to save the ones I love. The reason I didn't want to help is that the only people I cared about were either safe, or gone; but now…"

She turned, tears in her eyes as she looked up at the broken moon above Remnant. "Now I can save them. Now I have something to fight for. I promise you, you'll get the help you asked for!"

Hunter still had questions. _'What does all of that mean? If she's so powerful, why did a bunch of White Fang pose a threat to us? Where do we go from here?'_. But he supposed it didn't matter. He'd done something for her when he roped her into this, and she'd just promised to return the favor.

As the night went on, the group split apart and began taking care of things around the area.

By now, Roll was fully bandaged and resting against a tree, and Ozpin was making camp. The convict and wyvern disappeared into the forest, but Hunter doubted they went far. He was gathering weapons and supplies from their fallen attackers. And Ruby was away scouting with Scruff, looking for small foods like nuts and berries.

For once, the team was at peace, working together without any arguing, yelling, or fighting. They all had things to do, and started preparing to spend the night without any prompting. When they all got back together, Roll had fallen asleep, Ozpin had set up a few tents, Hunter had retrieved the sniper's weapon along with their black dust rounds and some medical supplies, and Ruby had several bags of food to supplement their current stores.

The four of them slept well that evening, tired out from the day's events. The only one still awake was Hunter, still processing the complete change in Ruby's character. While it was entirely new to him, Ozpin and Roll received it with some relief, as if they knew this side of Ruby beforehand, and were glad to see it back. Eventually, he found himself drifting off to sleep, his last thoughts of how much brighter their futures seemed simply with Rose's happiness.

Maybe there was hope for all of them yet.

* * *

 **So that was it. I was torn between trying to lengthen it to dilute the dialogue heavy beginning, and shortening it so it could be read quickly, and the next chapter could be moved on to. In the end, I made it short, and tacked on the end which had little dialogue. I promise that for the foreseeable future, no exposition dedicated chapters in this story.**

 **On the last chapter, a guest wrote a review and I'll address that here. If I receive review that I have something to say about, I'll PM the person who made it. However since they were a guest, and wrote an example of what I hope to see more of in the reviews, I'll answer here: (His comment in in bold, my responses are normal. This is just to save space).**

* * *

 **The most important piece of advice I can give you is this: the previous writer burnt out because his story wasn't getting attention. And his story wasn't getting attention because everything about Chapter 1 was just stupid.**  
As I understand it, that's not the only or even main reason he stopped, but he's admitted it was a factor. Whether or not it gets attention, I will keep it going as long as I can. If I for some reason can't keep going, I will wrap it up earlier than I'd hoped, but I won't rush it. As for chapter 1 going in the wrong direction, I'll talk about that next.

 **If you want to make this story work, you don't want to continue it; you want to reboot it. Get rid of anything as batshit ridiculous as Ruby killing all the Grimm in the world, all on her own, in one day. Leave a smaller disconnect between the setting of RWBY proper and this story. Maybe even reevaluate whether the rest of the main characters should be dead.**  
I'm not rebooting it. I said I'd continue it, and that's what I'll do. I understand I _can_ rewrite and whatnot, but I won't. As for Ruby killing the Grimm, while ridiculous, the whole story (as well as the previous one) are too. _Ruby has two souls, Team RWBY become the most wanted people in Remnant, a German Shepherd turns into a Beowolf, etc._

While that's a bit much, I promise the Grimm aren't gone. As we saw in the first chapter on this story (second on his page) there are still rare Grimm encounters. Remember, they're attracted to negative emotions, and currently Ruby's soul is entirely comprised of them, so she'll be a magnet to the few who exist in hidden dens and such. Also, without the Grimm barriers, they'll all be just as strong as those from the other side, so they'll still be a legitimate threat even in so few numbers.

The 5-year disconnect is fine for me, because I plan on using that to show how so little time (compared to a person's lifetime, 5 years isn't much) so much can change. In this world, the White Fang is actually an established world power, not some growing organization. With so much already deviating from the series, I might as well see where this takes me, and I have a few ideas.

As for the cast of RWBY being dead, I think there's not much I need to say here. Blake, Weiss, and Yang aren't the only returning characters either. So don't worry. I would like to point out that this was one of Dragon441's original plans; when I agreed to undertake this I had already been trying to find a way to bring them back, he insisted that it be done as well, so here we are. He gave me some ideas, but largely I've planned how this will happen.

 **A good story needs a good foundation, and the last one failed because it didn't have one. If you keep using the same one, you're unfortunately going to fail as well.**  
While I didn't exactly love some of the things Dragon did for the sequel, I feel that I can work with or around any of them. Especially now that I know some of his plans for where it was heading, I agree with some of his choices. No matter what happens, this continuation will not end in cancellation, and I will do my best with what I have.

* * *

 **So yeah. While this comment was more or less solely about how bad the premise for the story I'm writing is; I was overjoyed to read it. Yep, I love it. This is the kind of comment I want to see, because while all the positive feedback is nice, I always feel like I'm missing something. For example, just yesterday I found a mistake in a month-old chapter of mine (it has since been fixed). When I get a comment pointing out where I've gone wrong, I can usually fix it. If I can't, then I can at least explain the situation or look for ways to improve in future chapters.**

 **So before anybody goes to my rescue in the reviews as the previous author so heroically did, don't discourage the people who tell me I'm doing terribly. He may have been harsh, but his opinions are perfectly valid, and I even agree(d) with some of them. But this hasn't changed what I plan to write. However just because I'm not going along with what he said, doesn't mean I won't use suggestions. These ones just happen to either be already planned, or completely against what I've planned. If my responses aren't satisfactory for him, then he doesn't have to read any more, if they are, then I'm glad I was able to sell him on it. Either way, thanks to him for the comment.**

 **Maybe if I lose the drive to write somehow all the encouragement would be more than welcome; for now though, the most help you can be is to point out every little detail that I could make better.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in the next chapter. Preferably with less talking and more doing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here it is... a day late... at night... oh well!**

 **It's a bit late because I also wrote my teaser/chapter 1 for Family Gifts (shameless plug, shameless plug). I have created a poll on my profile as to whether I should continue writing 2 stories at once, or if I should try 3. Please vote on that, and the new (or old) schedule will begin (or continue) in February.**

 **All that said, here we go with happy Ruby back! Little bit more info about the state of Remnant, and a little happy bit at the end for the sappy people.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

(Chapter 6)

In one night, everything about their journey seemed to change. Ruby was acting like an entirely new person; smiling regularly, not threatening Hunter, and the only comments she made about their pace was less "Move it jackass, I'm not slowing down for you", and more "Come on guys, we're making good time, keep it up!"

After a few more hours of walking, the small crew decided to take a break. Setting down their heavy bags, the band of humans went about eating, rearranging supplies, or just relaxing for a few minutes. Ruby didn't demand they keep going or tell them to stop wasting time. Yet again, she joined them in their rest stop.

If he hadn't been with her for this complete reversal of her attitude, he would have assumed he was looking at a twin sister of her's. When he mentioned this to her, mostly to show he was glad she was feeling better, he received one last look at the girl from earlier, as a shadow rippled across her face. Soon enough though, it was replaced by a look of determination, and she set about packing up everyone's gear.

Hunter Raines decided that even though he didn't know what he'd done wrong, she was still upset by something he'd said. He wandered over toward the young woman and tried to offer his best smile when she looked up at him. "Hey, I uh… I just wanted to apologize about earlier, clearly I said something I shouldn't have."

"It's fine. It wasn't your fault anyway, and it doesn't really matter anymore, I suppose." Sighing at a distant memory, the huntress seemed to get lost in her thoughts.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Nope." Although she'd said 'no', her tone had a hint of playfulness in it that seemed foreign to the usually aggressive girl. Knowing that he'd upset her, -and not only was he fine, but also forgiven- things were going to work out alright between the two of them.

The grey haired man named Ozpin called Ruby and Hunter over to a tree the group had rested their gear against. He and his nephew were seated beneath the green leaves, which rustled as a summer breeze gently passed through the clearing.

In front of the two, was a large map of Remnant. It had all the kingdoms, as well as many of their larger outlying cities labeled in small text. When the others sat around the map, Ozpin began to speak.

"I suppose that if we are to continue, Hunter must be filled in on relevant details about the situation. I presume you do not object Ms. Rose?" Ruby simply shook her head. "Good, then let us begin."

Ozpin thought carefully about what Hunter needed to know, and quickly outlined the important details for the man. "While she's certainly lead an… eventful life, you only need to know about the past five years, one day in particular."

He made eye contact once more to guarantee he wasn't pushing her out of her comfort zone by sharing her past with a person they'd met less than two weeks ago. Her calm demeanor not having wavered, her former headmaster continued. "Most people know it as the day that, for all practical purposes, the Grimm went extinct. It isn't completely true; Grimm encounters are rare but still occur, and it was not a single day. Regardless, that is not what Ruby remembers the day for."

Taking in a deep breath, the older male recounted her tale of combating the Grimm, day in and day out. Hunter was shocked to hear that she fought nonstop against the creatures of darkness for so long. He kept wanting to ask about her team –which had been mentioned quite a lot by now-, but the sinking feeling in his gut told him that was where the story would end. He was right.

"After so long, RWBY's auras were low, nearly depleted. It was then that an incredibly rare Grimm, one never seen before this side of the barriers, attacked. A leviathan, a dragon-like creature of Grimm, launched a massive fireball towards the young huntresses."

Roll closed his eyes, Ruby gritted her teeth. Ozpin sighed sadly and went on to give Hunter the last piece of the puzzle. "Ms. Rose was able to use her semblance to evade it, but before her team could be warned, they were engulfed by the flames; with no auras in the face of such an attack, there was only one possible fate for them."

Though he would have realized it given time and the small clues he'd overheard in the past weeks, this last bit of information made everything clear to Hunter. He understood why she was such a recluse, why she'd changed so dramatically when receiving news of their survival. Not really knowing what to say in this situation, he finished Ozpin's story for him.

"You thought they died, that's why you gave everything up. You thought you were alone in the world."

Ruby nodded morosely. A sad smile graced her lips shortly thereafter, "It's also why that comment about me being like a twin sister hurt a bit, my sister… she was a part of my team. I thought…. Well I guess it's not important; I was wrong, my own desperation actually _saved_ them all. Now we just need to head back there and find them. I assume that's why we have the map."

After confirming her suspicions, Ozpin requested that she point out where this battle occurred. Ruby had no idea where they had gone, how far they had traveled while beyond the Grimm barrier. Luckily, she did know it was named Haven- she would never forget it.

"Hmm, Haven… We know you were somewhere in Mistral -that's where we found the compound- unless you fled the continent after your escape."

Ruby nodded her head. "That makes sense, maybe it was named after their combat school." The four scanned the eastern-most land-mass until Marvin pointed at a small dot North of the kingdom's capital. "There, Haven!"

Ruby ruffled her friend's hair before looking up at Ozpin. "Okay, we know where we're going, and where we are. Now _how_ do we get across an ocean while the White Fang control… well, everything?" Ozpin leaned back against the tree's trunk, mulling over their options.

"We can't travel by air, the only bullheads around are in White Fang outposts, and we'd get a lot of attention fighting on their ground. Luckily, I know a few old friends who are faunus. They swore fealty to the White Fang when they saw nobody could oppose them, but they're still sympathetic to humans, and occasionally smuggle some to safety."

Hunter looked at the man who'd just said that in confusion. "I didn't think there were many humans left."

Marvin rolled his eyes. "Of course there aren't many, but there are way more than the White Fang know about. People like you, who live in the middle of nowhere, off maps and away from settlements. People like Ozpin and me who they simply can't kill. A bunch of ex-hunters who, like Ruby, disappear. Humans aren't almost gone, but we're just so spread out."

It was true, humanity was still capable of recovering, there was only one problem, Remnant was a world in which everyone was isolated. Since the White Fang's uprising, the only means of flight were under the control of the extremists, and all of the CCT towers had their short range transmissions disabled. This meant that even with a scroll, nobody could connect with anyone else. The only means of long-distance communication was to use one of the terminals within CCT tower. With them under such heavy guard, the people of Remnant were cut off from each other, with only the White Fang capable of effective communication and coordination.

"Okay then, how are your friends going to get us to Mistral?"

"They have several boats which can carry about 10 people. The only problem is the Grimm. While Ruby's efforts at destroying the Grimm were effective, aerial and aquatic Grimm are hard to track, impossible to trap or pin down, they can't be hunted reliably. The flying Grimm's threat is low because while the creatures were rarely hurt, their nests and homes had to be abandoned. They would just fly around looking to kill, and that ends with them dead." Ozpin responded.

Ruby continued his explanation quickly. "But oceanic Grimm _can't_ come to us, so they just keep swimming until a ship comes too near. I assume these friends of yours need people to protect the ship while at sea, which is where we'd come in." Ozpin merely nodded in response.

Pointing to the map, the old professor's finger landed on a small cove not too far from their location. "They live around here, I spent some time there when I was a hunter taking care of a death stalker den, we became friends, and have kept in contact since."

"Well then, let's get going!" Marvin declared. Nodding in agreement, Ruby disappeared in a cloud of petals, and then returned with the last of the group's supplies. Everyone secured their packs to themselves, and set off again with Ruby in the lead.

* * *

"I almost wish the Grimm _were_ still around!" Ruby complained. Lately she'd been acting more and more like a child, Hunter thought. Their day-long trip had been uneventful, coming across no Grimm, no White Fang, nothing.

This complete solitude reminded them all why they were here. It felt as if the world had stopped turning; Remnant felt dead. The animals were few and far between, plant life didn't offer much in the way of companionship, and the rare settlements the group spotted in the distance were silent; ghost towns- abandoned to collapse and rot away.

This isolation spoke volumes of the damage wreaked upon the once vibrant, if dangerous, planet. The silence the team had been traveling in provided Ruby with ample time to think, which led to some disheartening trains of thought, one in particular caused her to feel guilty.

' _This is all my fault.'_ And in a way, the woman was correct. It was not the Grimm's reduced threat itself that allowed the White Fang to grow exponentially in it's strength. No, that was a benefit extended to both sides of the war, what gave them such an edge was the spike in membership.

The delicate balance between faunus and humans had been thrown into chaos when the Grimm disappeared in just days. The world saw only flashes of red as the creatures of darkness were cut down, which caused more problems than it solved. Had the Grimm been defeated, pushed back from civilization, by the combined efforts of all of Remnant's people working in tandem, it would have highlighted the strength the world held in unity.

Instead, without an enemy of pure evil, responsible for all people's suffering, all the misery in the world had to be attributed to something; _someone_ had to be at fault for their pain. So everyone began to blame others for their misfortune, faunus blamed humankind, and vice versa. Soon enough, both sides were at each other's throats.

The result was an army of beings physically superior to humans in almost every way, who'd already been fighting on a smaller scale for years; against those who relied on hunters and androids for protection as they engaged on the global equivalent of bullying, with few figures who opposed their actions.

In several short years, it was clear that humanity would fail to weather the storm, as one after another, the kingdoms fell to the now unrivaled might of the White Fang. In their zeal to forever remove the tyranny of Mankind, the extremists forgot about their pledge to protect their own people, allowing the world to decay and die around them.

It was rather ironic; the destruction of the greatest evil in the world, was cause of Remnant's desolation. And all of it done by a young girl, whose dream had been to fight for what was right, and protect people who couldn't protect themselves.

"Ms. Rose, did you hear me?"

"Hmm?" Ruby looked at the headmaster.

"I said, we're here." Ruby looked down from the hill they were on to see a picturesque home. Constructed primarily of wood, it was two stories tall, with windows letting in light from the sun beginning to dip below the horizon, and a front porch. Looking at it from the side, she could make out a deck in the back, with a small stone pathway leading to a pier.

Dark green shutters flanked the windows, and a small brick chimney was emitting smoke. On the front porch sat two rocking chairs, with a small table in-between them. The front lawn was decorated by a small dog-house and a bird-feeder. In front of the porch's railing, a line of small bushes and a few flower beds completed the almost sickeningly perfect view.

Ruby looked at Ozpin. "Who the Hell are these 'friends'? Their home looks like a picture on a postcard reading 'Welcome to Heaven'!"

Just then a loud _yip_ caught everyone's attention. The source was a small Jack Russell Terrier barking at them. It had spotted them after leaving it's shelter, and was defending its territory. Immediately, Scruff let out a booming _woof_ and dashed towards the other dog.

Upon seeing it's considerably larger cousin bearing down on it, the pet whined and bolted back into the small wooden structure. Scruff slowed down, and approached the dog-house in curiosity. Reaching it's entrance, he poked his head in and barked happily; Ruby felt bad for the most likely terrified pup inside.

"Get away from Milo!" A faunus woman who appeared to be only slightly younger than Ozpin flew out of the house with a dust rifle. Just as she was taking aim, something unexpected happened; the 'beowolf' backed away from her pet, sat on it's hindquarters, and began panting with it's tongue lolling out of it's mouth.

While she was still trying to decide whether or not to take advantage of this odd behavior, Ruby appeared out of nowhere in front of Scruff. "Please don't shoot him, he's nice, he won't hurt anyone." Turning to address the massive canine, Ruby said, "It's okay boy, she's not going to hurt you. There, there…. Good boy!"

Now that she was closer to the woman, Ruby could make out fox ears on her head. Her once orange hair seemed to have faded to ginger, coming down to her shoulders in straight strands. The faunus's pale skin contrasted with her dark brown eyes. Ruby studied her in an attempt to gauge the new acquaintance, all while the fox-woman tried to make sense of what was going on.

The woman now completely confused by the situation, looked around once more and saw the other advancing figures, picking one out in particular. "Ozpin!"

The young huntress looked back at the woman in surprise. "You refer to an old friend by their _last_ name?" She shrugged.

"We learned pretty quickly he's not big on sharing. I think the bigger questions here are who are the rest of you, and why do you have a tame beowolf?"

"He's not a beowolf, he's a German Shepherd!" Ruby explained in exasperation. "Every time, it's always 'what's with the beowolf'. He's a dog; I mean, he spent several months past the Grimm barriers, but he's still a dog!"

Her eyes wide, Ozpin's friend stared at Ruby. Hunter spoke up, having heard their short conversation. "Don't worry, I know how you feel. Same thing happened to me first time I met her."

Shaking head in disbelief the woman turned to Ozpin. "Is there a reason you've come back, or are you just trying to drive me crazy with your antics?" This elicited a chuckle from the aging hunter.

"All in good time Vicki, but for now, why don't we all go inside?"

Clearly conflicted about her current predicament, she said, "If you trust these three, I trust them too. But what about the Gri-… dog? Is it safe to leave them out here with Milo?" Ozpin looked over at Ruby with an eyebrow raised.

"Scruff, play dead." The Grimm-like dog got on it's hind legs, flailing it's paws in the air, before falling to the ground on it's back. After a moment of stillness, Scruff turned his head back towards the group and let his tongue hang out again as he looked on with happy eyes; the picture of innocence.

"Alright, fine. Come on in you four." Finally slinging the rifle across her back once more, Vicki lead them into the house. As Ruby began to walk off, Scruff leapt to his feet and began to head towards her. A quick "Stay boy!" left him lying in the front yard.

The smaller dog cautiously poked his head out of the dog-house. Seeing that the behemoth that had invaded his territory had it's guard down, Milo rushed forth and began yipping in it's face again. This made Ruby laugh, glad to see that Scruff had made a 'friend'.

With that, she closed the door behind her, and went to see the rest of the house with her friends.

* * *

 **Aww, isn't it cute? Even though he's a giant abomination, he's still a little puppy at heart! Okay that was the animal-lover side of me (not like that, why do I feel the need to clarify this sort of thing all the time? The internet has corrupted my innocence!) anyways, moving on.**

 **Tell me what you think about the chapter, anything I can do to make it better, where are my spelling mistakes?**

 **I was thinking about writing a joke about Penny's death here, but that comes in the next chapter. Besides, it's too soon; any jokes about her would be in poor taste, and only about half of you would find it funny.**

 **In short, it'd cut too deep, and I don't want to divide you guys, so I'll just end this rather than stringing you along!**

 _I'm not sorry._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7, I almost didn't make it. I had a lot of work and studying and exams and ugh. I'll just put the "sorry I'm (almost) late excuse" template here:**

 **Sorry I was late with the chapter for _ guys, I've just had to deal with _ recently, and so I'm feeling pretty _. Don't worry, I promise to _ once I get through this.**

 **Thanks, _**

 **Yay, jokes. Anyways, last chapter before we set sail, see if you can spot the dead Penny joke(s)/references. Also, I was not ready for that last episode (V3 E11), I didn't expect a lot of that. A moment of silence for [removed for spoilers]. Anyways, here you go, enjoy... hopefully...**

 **One thing, last chapter I said Scruff was a corgi, he's a German Shepherd. I don't know why I thought he was one, and I didn't even make the connection to Zwei until someone mentioned it, I just decided he was one for whatever reason. So just to clarify, not a former-corgi.**

* * *

(Chapter 7)

"Here we go, two coffees, one tea, one… milk." The faunus Ozpin had referred to as 'Vicki' handed out the drinks her guests had asked for when prompted. "It's good to see you again, Oz; who are your friends?"

"It's good to see you again as well. This is Marvin, my nephew. This is-"

"Wait, didn't you once mention your nephew was arrested?"

For the first time since she had met the man, Ruby saw Professor Ozpin don a sheepish expression. "Something like that… he's a good kid, but… well, not everyone agrees." Vicki could only shake her head. "Alright, if you vouch for him, I trust you."

"Thank you." He said, clearly relieved. "This is Ruby Rose, a former student of mine."

Marvin had never seen his uncle even remotely uncomfortable either, so he decided to capitalize on it. "Yeah, but she and I first met in prison. I can't quite remember, but I think it was just a couple of days before we broke out, right Ruby?" The friends both smirked as Ozpin's eyes widened.

Their hostess stared at the two of them in apprehension, no doubt reassessing her decision on letting them in. "He's not being serious, right? Right?" The headmaster simply remained quiet. "Oh for the love of God."

"Well Vicki, you see… Well they… I, uh"

Having had her fill of watching the man struggle to come up with a good explanation, Ruby decided to help him out. "It's true, though to be fair, what happened wasn't my fault. My team even once mentioned that the one who arrested me didn't think I deserved it either. It was just a lot of bad luck."

The faunus woman turned to the huntress in surprise, "'Your team'? Are there _more_ of you coming?"

"Actually, that's why we came here. We're trying to find them, and we need to get to Mistral." Ozpin said, trying to move the conversation forward. "The four of us hoped that Tom was still sailing people over there."

Vicki nodded. "Mhm, he should be coming back from his hunting trip soon. Usually arrives fairly late, since it's hard to find many animals now."

The group sat around and talked with each other as they waited. Vicki told Ozpin about how everything had been since they had last spoken. Hunter introduced himself, since Ozpin never got the chance to. Marvin and Ruby were quiet, but polite and friendly. As the sun' s last rays of light began to vanish, the door burst open.

An out of breath fox faunus yelled as he stood in the doorway. "Vicki, there's a beowolf outside, and-" As he caught sight of the room's occupants, he cut his sentence short. Sighing, he faced the man reclining in a chair with a cup of coffee. "This is your doing, isn't it Ozpin?"

"Uh, no sir." Ruby said as she meekly raised her hand. "I forgot how people react when they first meet Scruff, sorry."

Visibly relaxing, the man took a seat. He had several rabbits tied to him by their feet. His hair was orange like Vicki's, though somewhat lighter. He was tall and lean with a heavy tan. A few scars decorated his hands, but otherwise he seemed to be in perfect health. "Still, I'm blaming Oz. Only he can know people who have pet Grimm."

"German shepherd!"

Bringing his hands up, he massaged his temples. The faunus asked whether or not 'Scruff' was safe to be around. "Yep, he's really, really friendly, look. _Scuff, here boy!_ " Ruby replied in a playful, high-pitched voice.

Outside the window, the group had a good view of Ruby's companion. Milo the little yappy dog had been climbing on the hulking intruder, playfully nipping. While Ruby called for Scruff, the Jack Russell Terrier was messing with the larger dog's ear.

Scruff's reaction was immediate. He shot up and began to trot towards the home's entrance. After a quick yelp in surprise, Milo closed his mouth around the ear he had been playing with and held it firmly. Not seeming to have noticed, the beowolf-like dog entered the open door and stood at attention in front of Ruby; his head tilted to the left, as the weight of Milo hanging limply from his ear pulled that part of his head down slightly.

" _Down boy!_ "

Scruff laid on the wooden floor, his head between his outstretched paws staring up at his owner with adoration. Milo took this opportunity to release the ear, and scamper over to the man standing nearby.

" _Good boy! Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? Yes you are…._ " As Ruby hugged and petted the massive canine, the faunus both turned to Ozpin, the man speaking up first. "Where do you meet these people?"

The headmaster smiled at the scene in front of him. "Good to see you as well, Tom. It's been too long."

"Well, we don't mind the company; it's always been pretty quiet, but since the town has been abandoned, he hardly see anyone around. The only people we meet at this point are a few humans that heard we can get them to safety."

Hunter knitted his brows at this. "Wait, if they're hearing about you from other faunus, aren't you worried the White Fang will find out eventually? What would you do if they showed up outside one day?"

"Eh, we'd wing it."

"Honey!" Vicki smacked his arm lightly before turning to Hunter. "What he _meant_ to say, was that we've got emergency supplies prepared for a quick exit. If they ever attacked us, we'll take the boat and leave."

" _The_ boat? Last time I was here, you had several, what became of them?"

The couple exchanged a quick glance before answering Ozpin's question. "Well… the White Fang already showed up once. They had no idea what Tom was doing, so they weren't here for us. They were scavenging parts from people's vehicles to conduct repairs and maintain their own transports." Vicki said.

Tom continued her explanation. "I was out at the time, taking a small family off to Mistral. When I got back, she told me they'd come by and stripped our ships down for materials. They took anything that they could use; the copper wire in the electrical systems, the zinc studs that prevent the hull from rusting so badly, everything. Once they were done, all our ships had only half their original parts, and they sunk quickly."

' _We got lucky._ ' Hunter realized. ' _If he hadn't been gone with one of the boats at the time, we'd have to find a different way to cross an entire ocean._ '

"Well, I'm sure I'll get to know all of you at some point, but first, why are you here Ozpin? In times like these, it's not common for people to visit old friends just to catch up and chat."

The professor explained their situation to Tom, asking him if he could take them to Mistral to find some very important people. "Sure, we can go tomorrow if need, be. I'd just need to spend some time tonight packing up."

A quick survey determined the room was in agreement, they would set out the next morning, just after breakfast. "We can discuss what we'll be facing tomorrow, but for now, I think we all need some rest." Tom said to the group. "We have a few rooms upstairs for guests, feel free to make yourselves at home."

After showing them to their rooms, Tom retired to his bedroom with Vicki. As everyone quieted down, they all enjoyed the peaceful silence. One by one, each member of the group fell to sleep, finally enjoying the comforts of a proper bed for the first time in what seemed like years.

* * *

Hunter Raines awoke to the smell of food cooking. He grabbed his gear, and went downstairs. Entering the kitchen, Hunter found Ruby, Ozpin, and Marvin sitting around a table. Vicki was at the stove cooking some meat, probably the rabbits brought back by Tom the previous evening.

Speaking of her husband, he descended the stairs behind Hunter. Walking over to his wife, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before taking over preparation of the meal. Vicki sat at the table with everyone else, so Hunter joined them too.

"So, where exactly would we be going?" he asked.

"Tom has an old friend over in Mistral, a dog faunus named Connor. Ever since the White Fang started hunting down humans, he's been taking as many as he could over there. The White Fang in Mistral are fairly relaxed in comparison to the rest of Remnant. Unlike with Vale, Vacuo, and especially Atlas, they didn't really have to fight for Mistral. Most of their military were cut down by the Grimm before they all disappeared."

Ruby shifted in her chair, slightly uncomfortable about the topic. ' _They don't know it was her, nobody does. That can't be fun to talk about._ '

As she said this, her husband came over with their food. Setting down a plate for each person seated at the table. "He lives on the western coast, it makes it pretty easy to get there. We just need to worry about Grimm along the way."

Ruby spoke up from next to Hunter. "Any chance of running into the White Fang while we travel?"

"No, oddly enough the inconvenience of using a boat, rather than flying, works to our advantage. They really don't use boats unless they know where something is and need them for it, and so long as we stay clear of flight routes, they shouldn't see us."

Nodding her acceptance of this, Ruby leans back in the chair as she continues eating. "You mentioned Grimm might be a problem. What kinds can we expect to come across?"

"Well, most of the ones we'll come across aren't too dangerous unless you fall in. If you do, use anything and everything available to get in fast. You do _not_ want to be in the water for too long. I saw one poor guy fall in on a trip, but he seemed fine when we got him back in. Two days later he died, apparently he'd swallowed some sea-water with a parasitic Grimm in it, and he didn't even know."

Everyone at the table shuddered at that. The idea that they could get inside you and kill you without any way to stop them was nightmarish.

"My rule of thumb for these things: If it's ¼ the length of your ship or longer, it's a threat. Anything that can immobilize you is a threat. Anything that can get on board, is a threat. Then there's Arapaina. They're never safe, so that's the exception to the rule."

Hunter looked at the sailor quizzically. "What are Arapaina?"

"Giant fish, the small ones are as long as you are tall, nearly six feet I believe. Their entire head is just bone plates and teeth. They launch out of the water like torpedoes, since they're all just streamlined muscle. If they hit you on the head, it can knock you out, and you may fall in or be attacked by it. It may just break your neck from the sheer force."

Marvin whistled, then asked the question on everyone's mind. "So, what do we do about them?"

"Same thing as what happens if any Grimm attacks you; don't get hit. Dodge, kill it, take cover. Whatever happens don't let it catch you with that jump. Once they're on board, you just need to kill them without getting within biting distance. They're flexible, so they can snap around and bite just about anything that can touch them."

Ozpin leaned forwards. "It's been a long time since I've heard about marine Grimm, remind me if you would; you mentioned there are Grimm who 'can immobilize you'. What did you have in mind?"

Tom just shrugged his shoulders. "There are some that have tentacles, and the huge ones can hold us still. If that happens, we're in a _lot_ of trouble. We'd need to cut ourselves free while avoiding all the tentacles that are attacking us. I've never seen one big enough yet, but I've heard there are some that, given time, could snap our ship in half."

"Are you guys sure this is safe?" Hunter asked.

"It isn't, not even remotely. Luckily for us, we usually only have one or two encounters a trip. All we can do is hope they're not too bad."

Ruby turned to Hunter. "Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure about going through with this? Ozpin, Marvin, and I can handle it from here. You've done your part, you found me, you started this, you gave me a chance to redeem myself. I know a few days ago I would say this because I hated you,-

"Why do you insist on ruining every nice thing you say to me?"

"- but now it's out of concern. You don't have to do this, we'll finish it, I promise."

Vicki put a his hand with hers. "If you want to, you can stay here, at least for a few days if you insist on leaving afterwards. It gets lonely out here with nobody to talk to, so some company would be nice. If the White Fang comes, we have a room downstairs they won't find."

Looking around him, Hunter saw genuine concern in their eyes. He wasn't anywhere near as good in a fight, he was the weak link on the team. ' _I can't go, not after everything I did to get here. But on the other hand, this might kill me…._ '

"No, I'm going. I may not be the best fighter among us, but you need all the help you can get. Besides, if I'm honest, it's kind of nice not to spend all day in a hut. If I begin causing more harm than good, I'll leave at the first chance I have. Until then, I'm coming along for the ride."

The faunus couple seemed happy he hadn't decided to give up, even if that meant they didn't have anyone to talk with still. Ozpin still seemed mildly concerned, but Marvin was certainly excited about the decision to stay. As for Ruby, she actually looked… relieved? ' _That's odd._ ' Hunter thought as he brought his fork down to skewer another piece of meat.

 _Skreeek_

Hunter jumped at the loud noise his fork made as it scratched it's way across the plate. Looking down, he found his breakfast had disappeared. He quickly discovered it's fate. Scruff had grabbed it while he was distracted, and was now sharing it with Milo, who couldn't reach the food himself.

"Let me get you some more." Vicki laughed as she stood and turned to the stove. "One day, and they're already starting trouble. Keep an eye on Scruff Ms. Rose, I think Milo may be a bad influence on him."

* * *

"That's the last of it!" Ruby said excitedly as she tossed her pack into her small cabin. Everyone's gear was packed and ready to go. The captain was making final checks currently, and Ruby was still trying to figure out what to do about Scruff.

When he'd first started changing after they'd passed the Grimm barriers so long ago, his size was still reasonable. He was certainly larger than any normal dog, and had beowolf-like qualities, but he was recognizable. Now, both fortunately and unfortunately, he was enormous. He hadn't stopped growing, and was now easily the size of an adult beowolf, and by the end of his life, he may be the size of an alpha.

He couldn't fit below decks, and if he stayed above, something could happen. ' _What if he falls in, or if there's a storm, or he's hurt in a Grimm attack?_ ' So many things could happen to him, but Ruby didn't want to leave him.

After a lot of thinking, planning, and time, the reaper had only one choice. "Um.. Mrs.…"

"Harris, our last name is Harris."

"Ah, Mrs. Harris, could I… leave Scruff with you?" Vicki raised her eyebrows in surprise. "It's just that, we can't take him on the boat, and I don't want to lose him. He likes Milo, and he seems to like you too…."

The faunus woman laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "There, there. He can stay here until you get back. Just tell me what I should know about him, and he'll be waiting for when you return." She smiled, "just make sure you bring my husband back too."

Ruby nodded enthusiastically, and began explaining how Scruff could hunt for himself, she just needs to make sure he had somewhere to be if the weather gets bad. As she launched into warnings about playing too roughly with him, Hunter was boarding the ship.

It was just over 50 feet long with white sides and Orange letters which read 'Brass Wake'. ' _Weird name… when did I start expecting anything different?_ ' It had a large sail, and powerful motors as well. It had clearly been modified for more dangerous situations, as it had swiveling turrets along it's sides. There were marks all over it from previous encounters. Chips, scratches, small dents; it had obviously been in use for some time.

Looking at the four others he would travel with, Hunter wondered if it was enough. The fact that the only name they got was an exception to a rule meant there was a good chance there were so many creatures out there it wasn't worth listing them all. ' _This is the first time I'm leaving the Vale mainland… I've never seen Mistral, or Vacuo or Atlas for that matter. I wonder what it will be like._ '

A quick kiss goodbye between Tom and Vicki signified the end of their time at shore. The group boarded the ship, and waved goodbye as they set off into the vast expanse of open ocean. "Feeling nervous?" A voice asked from behind him.

Hunter turned to face the captain. "A bit, yeah."

"Well you know what they say; 'Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you'll never know the terror of being lost at sea.'"

He paled slightly. "They, don't actually say that… do they?"

The faunus laughed. "No, but your friend said she'd take my shift at keeping watch if I told you that."

Looking past Tom, Hunter saw the black-cloaked girl laughing at him from across the deck. "You know, I really hate her sometimes."

* * *

 **That's it for this week guys. see you soon. Keep reviewing and being awesome. Thanks! Now I just need to work in jokes for all the stuff that's happened in these past episodes, but I'm a bit shaken. Their choices really disarmed my critical side.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again, sorry for being late. I was way too busy to get it out on time so I've decided on my new protocol for late chapters. If it's late, I will try to finish it AND the chapter to be upload on the other story. I managed to do it this week, and hopefully this won't be a regular occurrence.**

 **This was already the longest out of all 18 chapters I've written for my various stories without authors notes (a bit over 4,100 words). This was long and crazy for me to write, a lot of things changed here while I was writing, so some parts of the story are now going to play out differently. Thanks for being patient.**

 **Any questions or... well anything? Send me a PM or leave a review. It's always nice to hear from you guys, and I love advice and suggestions on how I can handle the story, future events in it, or general improvements I can make! Enjoy!**

* * *

(Chapter 8)

How tiring life at sea was. The crew of the Brass Wake were exhausted. Just one day, and they had already seen more Grimm than they had in years, although that didn't say much. It was the suddenness of the encounters that made them so difficult to deal with. One minute, everything would be fine; the next, a 500 pound fish would lob itself at someone's head.

So far none of the living projectiles had found their marks, but statistically it was only a matter of time. The arapaina were odd looking. The Grimm fish were streamlined, with all of it's fins either far forwards or at the back. They were all small and out of the way, seeming to be short and thin, but had long bases. The entire body was used as a giant fin, propelling itself forwards like an eel, but with so much more power. At it's front, the body of the arapaina flattened into a wide, bone played head.

They had hit everywhere from the mast to the hull. The captain said they occasionally cleared the boat entirely, before lining up for another shot. When the first one landed on the deck, it was used as a chance for them to get a good look at it. Hunter looked at it's mouth closely when he noticed it had no teeth.

"I thought you said to take care not to get bitten. It has no teeth."

"It doesn't need them, their jaws have the force to crush your sword if you stick it in. Imagine what would happen to a hand in that. It is still capable of concussing you with a good blow while on the ship, so it's best to stay off the ground in pain." Hunter took a few steps back from the monster.

Once the impromptu Grimm anatomy lesson was over, the faunus grabbed a cutlass from the helm. On each side of the blade, a small metal tube ran parallel with it for several inches; within the hand guard, two triggers were present. Pointing the tip of his weapon at the fish, the captain pulled both at once, and two bullets flew into it's side. It flailed around in response, and when it flung it's head away from the man, Tom thrust the blade into it's gills, angled towards the head.

Immediately the spasms ceased, and the Grimm evaporated around the weapon. It was simple, fast, and relatively safe. The next 20 cases were increasingly aggravating. It was tiring, the group had gone five years without seeing so much as a single Grimm, and within an hour, they were already sick of dealing with them again.

The captain had apologized to the crew several times. "I'm really sorry guys, you've already seen more Grimm than I do in several trips back and forth. There have never been this many before, I'm not sure what's going on." Ruby and her friends exchanged a nervous glance. In a fast, silent conversation, they decided _not_ to tell him. Each of the four recognized that it was Ruby's presence that caused this, but they needed him still, probably for transport back to Vale in future.

Besides, they've handled everything up until now, better not to worry him about it, and just pass it off as bad luck.

Not only had the crew been plagued by droves of kamikaze fish, but numerous other Grimm made appearances. A Bladefish had swum alongside the ship for some time, it had a sharp sail-like dorsal fin, and a long nose ending in a lethal point. When it saw that nobody was going to fall in, it shot off _ahead_ of the ship; it was incredibly fast.

There had been many encounters like this, but the most unnerving was the massive shark. It's fin was often visible as the sun rose and set. During the day it was submerged; at night, it was too dark to pick out from the black water that surrounded them for as far as they could see in any direction. But at dawn and dusk, the beast swam just beneath the waves, and the low-hanging sun lit the triangular dagger cutting it's way through the sea perfectly.

What was so disturbing it's behavior. It followed them. Day in, day out; the shark fin was _always_ behind the ship. Despite it's determination to stalk it's prey, the Grimm never struck, it just observed, as if it was waiting for something. When they had first brought it to the captain's attention, he replied, "That would be Maw."

The four humans shared a few concerned glances between each other, before redirecting their attention to Tom. "Uh… What's 'Maw'?" Hunter asked with no small amount of apprehension in his voice.

"Giant shark Grimm. On one of my trips, we saw his fin, so we prepared to fight him off. He never came close enough though, but didn't leave us alone. We kept watch all night, when day came and we didn't see him, we assumed he left. The monster shows up again at dusk that day. One of the passengers, I think his name was Peter, nicknamed it Maw, since it reminded him of a movie he once saw."

The captain gave a brief overview of the movie's plot, but nobody listened. Something about hunting a giant killer shark, but they were all more interested in the creature itself.

"Whenever we're in port, we don't see him, but he's _always_ followed this ship during my voyages since then. He has never once even come within attack range, just follows us. I tried coming out once to observe him, I don't know if his species was discovered and named before the White Fang became the world's priority. I tried getting him in shallow water and using my faunus eye-sight to learn about him. I can't tell much, but his head and fins are almost all bone, and he's got to be at least half the length of this boat."

The group hit him with a barrage of questions. "Can we kill it?", "have you seen any other shark Grimm?", "why do you think it follows the boat?". Captain Tom raised his hands up, "alright now, calm down. I've been sailing with that thing following me for half a decade, it hasn't caused a problem yet. Let's try not to give it a reason to ram a hole in my ship now, okay?"

Ozpin gazed upon Maw with apprehension. "His behavior is reminiscent of the Goliath. They kept their distance, watching and waiting; but the moment that went wrong, entire herds would charge in. I do not think he is passive by any measure, just smart."

Ruby just pretended the monster wasn't there, and Hunter tried to ignore it's foreboding presence. Both Marvin and Ozpin kept tossing worried glances to the horizon, scanning the water's surface for the beast's tell-tale fin. The captain just seemed to watch Maw out of interest and a hint of respect. The companion he'd become so used to didn't worry him, for now at least.

Still, Tom decided that he would take his previous watch shift anyways, so he could keep an eye on the monster off his stern. Despite the reassurances the Grimm never interfered, and how capably the others handled the Grimm they encountered, Hunter couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

* * *

The whole crew was on edge. Days of regular Grimm attacks and sightings was wearing on them, each of them had lost much sleep. Whether from anxiety about when the next threat could rear it's head, to taking on more watches to allow the less experienced voyagers much needed rest.

Despite having to be around mid-day, the sky was dark and gloomy, large clouds obscuring their view of the sun. Heavy winds berated the Brass Wake and any of it's passengers above deck. Rough, choppy seas tossed the boat around between large waves. Then, as if someone on board had a moment of optimism, it began to rain.

Starting off slowly, the trickle became a torrential downpour in minutes. What had been a cloudless, pleasant day had turned into a monstrous storm that threatened to capsize the ship every second they were in it.

Tom Harris was nervous, weather rarely changed so dramatically. He had heard ominous legends, warning any sailor who would listen, that only one thing could bring such a storm out of nowhere. An ancient Grimm.

When multi-thousand year old creatures of Grimm were around, the world itself acknowledged their presence. Smoke became thicker, the sky would darken; tales told of rain interrupting decade-long droughts, earthquakes far from any known fault line. It was as if they reigned over the elements, and turned them into weapons of fear.

Everyone felt it. Though no words were exchanged, each knew the others were on the same wavelength. It was rare that all of them would stand idly on deck at once, often preferring to spend their time below decks. But now, everyone felt that something was profoundly wrong, why else would all five passengers brave the maelstrom with no apparent purpose?

The Brass Wake swayed back and forth between the waves that were unprecedentedly large. Leaning left, then right, then left, then… left? ' _What the hell?_ '

The ship had ceased it's rocking, and was now simply at an angle. The waves crashed against the slightly raised starboard side, while the five people on board cautiously adjusted their footing to the angle of the deck. "Why have we stopped swaying?" Hunter yelled to the captain.

Barely audible the rain, the faunus's reply came. "I don't know! Maybe we hit a reef or a sandbar. The high waters may have obscured something, but I can't imagine there being anything that shallow out here."

Marvin leaned over the side, looking down at the vessel's waterline, and quickly leapt back. "Grimm, get away from the sides!" The crew rapidly made their way to the center of the boat, scanning the sides for movement. When it came, they all blanched.

Long, black tentacles slithered over the railing in dozens of locations. Two particularly large tendrils were capped in Grimm bone, creating what looked like two massive white spears.

"Kraken." Tom breathed out. "Stay still and quiet, if we're lucky, it may discount us as wreckage. It can't see us, but it can feel vibrations from movement or loud noises." His voice was barely a whisper.

The other four nodded in understanding and froze in place, petrified by the massive beast that had the ship in a firm grip. The two largest tentacles hovered in the air, one on each side of the poor boat. At least eight others wrapped themselves around parts of the ship; coiling around the mast, the bow, even parts of the railing.

The remaining eight limbs snaked their way across the deck, going down below, to the wheel, up one side of the ship and back into the water on the other. They swept back and forth searching for the monster's prey.

Suddenly one tentacle swung wildly, flailing about nearby. It hadn't found anything, but its sudden movement startled Marvin, who had been closest. Involuntarily, he took a step backwards, right onto another one of the living nightmare's extremities. Instantly, the roaming tendrils whipped towards the group.

"Roll, get down! Everyone scatter!" Ruby yelled out before disappearing in a cloud of red petals.

In that moment, all hell broke loose. Marvin dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. Ozpin readied his cane and began dodging the incoming arms. Hunter drew his sword and rushed for the lower deck, hoping to find a choke point to make managing the tentacles more easy. Tom rolled out of the way when one of the massive spears impaled itself where he stood moments ago.

Firing both shots from the guns attached to his cutlass, the faunus targeted the offending limb and proceeded to hack and slash at it. A deep rumbling was heard, which the desperate victims of the legendary Grimm could only assume was a cry of pain.

The white lance removed itself from the floor, leaving a hole in it's place. It rose back to it's position high above the ship, and waited.

Ruby dashed up and down the length of their transport, twirling, swinging, and stabbing in a dangerous storm of blades. Kraken tentacles kept plunging towards the huntress, but each time they were rebuffed by her impenetrable wall of razor sharp metal. It was a war of attrition, where each time the wave of black surged forth, it would get closer to the young woman before being pushed back.

' _I can't keep this up forever, I need to get out of this, fast!_ ' Ruby sought desperately for an escape from the futile defense she was barely keeping up. With the impossible amount of targets to keep track, her attention being focused on a solution was the final straw. She made a mistake.

Spinning her scythe in front of her, she blocked three incoming strikes. Leaping back, Ruby avoided a downward blow meant to catch her unawares, then ducked as a fifth wet tendril swept in a horizontal arc where her head had been moments before. Standing up with her scythe blade to her back, preparing to do a pirouette with a shot from the sniper rifle mechanism. Before she could, the reaper saw one of the bony limbs swing towards her chest with it's side. Five limbs rose up behind her and surged towards the girl, now surrounded by the arms. No time to block, nor to dodge.

Even having braced for the hit, it was devastating. The scythe-wielder flew across the deck and slid all the way to the bow. Ruby came to a stop when her head hit a crate against the railing. Somewhere between her previous position and where the girl now lay, Crescent Rose was embedded in some part of the Brass Wake. The red-head had managed to cling to it after being hit, but when it got lodged in a wall, her momentum kept her going, tearing her prized weapon from her grasp.

Dazed and gasping for breath, Ruby Rose tried to stand, but couldn't. On top of the sheer force, the huntress had the wind knocked out of her, received a blow to the head, and tumbled a good 10 feet across the ship's main deck. Covered in small cuts and bruises, she fought to refocus her mind. Looking up, the beaten girl stared in resignation as a giant white spear of bone thrust itself toward her exposed stomach.

"So this is how it ends? I finally get a chance to save them, and I'm killed along the way; I'm sorry guys"

She closed her eyes, and waited for the blow.

* * *

Hunter was taking care of himself quite well. With the bottleneck the corridor provided, he couldn't be sneaked up on, and only three of the monster's arms could attack him. Eventually they ceased to come forward, and returned to the surface.

Wondering what had drawn the creature's attention, Hunter cautiously made his way to the hatch. When he arrived on the deck, he did not like what he saw. Ozpin, Marvin, and Tom each had two dark tendrils to deal with, but rather than attacking, they simply seemed to herd the three away from the front of the boat.

"Oh for God's sake." Poor Ruby was being assaulted by the remaining 10 normal arms of the Grimm focusing solely on her. As he ran to assist her, Hunter watched the legendary huntress get clothes-lined by 300 pounds of pure bone traveling at breakneck speeds, literally. If the girl didn't have her aura, there was little doubt that her neck would have snapped like a twig.

As Ruby hurdled through the rain-filled sky, Hunter activated his semblance on her. He felt incredible power once again, he knew the moment she hit the ground he would have lost precious aura, and he rushed to make use of his new-found strength. Sprinting for all his worth, the man charged to the downed girl, watching in horror as one of the pointed tentacles reared back, and dove towards Ruby.

Summoning all the strength he could, Hunter leapt in-between the two and held out his hands as the bone point impacted against him. He felt the power his semblance granted him vanish as it was all expended in surviving the impact. The Grimm's weaponized limb deflected, Hunter slashed down with all the speed he could muster.

* * *

"What?" Ruby heard someone throw themselves between her and the Grimm that was moments from taking her life. As she looked up, Ruby saw a simple sword brought down on the Grimm, entirely severing the bone-plated tip.

Everything was still fuzzy from when she hit her head against the box. All the girl knew was that some blonde moron and jumped in front of an unstoppable blow, but their aura had completely stopped the attack. Their sword sliced through the Grimm like a knife through hot butter, and they stood in a defensive position over the fallen girl.

For a moment, she had almost believed it was Jaune. He had an insane aura, and it would be just like him to jump in front danger to protect another. But Jaune was slightly taller, this person lacked his trademark sword and shield, and when they looked back, their eyes were brown. "Hunter?"

A curt nod later, he turned to face the five forms slithering towards the two humans, the others having branched off to cause more mayhem with the other crew members. Hacking and slashing as need be, he kept the black writhing masses back. The three other passengers had already severed their attacking extremities. They all banded together to finish off the remaining tendrils.

As it's defeat grew closer and closer, the leviathan the was still holding fast to the vessel extended it's final two arms, a last resort. _Entirely_ covered in bone, as opposed to the spears, these tentacles were thick as tree trunks, and akin to massive clubs. The Grimm bone formed interlocking plates for a nearly seamless defense from all conventional damage. They wrapped around the hull, and began to constrict the center of the ship.

The metal railing groaned as it bent, the hull creaking from the pressure being exerted on it. Hunter analyzed the situation quickly. There was no way in hell any sword would dismember these two, small chinks in the armor could be exploited, but nothing that could cause serious damage. Left to it's own devices, the ancient Grimm would undoubtedly snap the Brass Wake in two. There was only one way out.

"We have to kill this thing, and it's underneath the ship. How the hell do we get it?"

Ozpin turned to the captain. "Tom, do you have any dust? Lightning, ice, fire, _anything_?"

The fox-man nodded rapidly, his words spilling out nearly incomprehensibly fast. "I keeps some burn dust as back-up fuel in case we run out and the wind isn't on our side. I'll get it!" He dashed below decks.

"Roll, you and Ozpin need to keep an eye on the remaining tentacles. Raines, you're with me." Ruby rushed to the edge of the deck, she looked over the side into the water below. "I have to go in. I have to swim to that thing and deliver the dust."

Hunter's eyes widened in shock. "Ruby, you can't! You have no idea what is down there, you could die." She smiled sadly.

"If I don't, we _all_ die. Listen, once I've shoved the crystal down that _thing's_ gullet, I won't have long before the stomach acid sets it off. Red dust is very volatile, and Grimm stomach acid is meant to dissolve eaten prey completely; it doesn't need the nutrients to live, so it's just meant to eliminate it from the system. The second the dust touches it, it will detonate."

Ruby breathed in deeply. "It's up to you to make sure my team is retrieved if I don't come back. Promise me you'll free them and keep them safe?" Hunter looked her in the eyes; he didn't see fear, or sadness, it was an emotionless slate.

"I promise, but I know you will come back, you can do this." Ruby smiled, just then the faunus man made it back to the surface with a glowing red crystal.

"Throw it here!" Tom tossed the shining mineral to the huntress. He jogged over to the pair. "So, what's your plan?"

Ruby dove into the water. " _What the hell!?_ Did she just _jump in!?_ " The girl swam towards the center of the ship, soon disappearing from view.

"Come on, Ruby…." The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly, the Grimm's ever-increasing hold on the ship threatening to demolish their vessel. Suddenly, the few tentacles that had yet to be severed returned to the sea. ' _It's only just noticed her, she might have gotten the crystal in! Come on, surface, come on!_ '

At some point his pleading went from internal to vocal. Ozpin and the boy Ruby insisted on calling 'Roll' just now noticed one of their own was not present. "Where's Ruby?"

Hunter pointed below him to the water which the huntress had vanished into moments ago. "Ruby just ju-"

His sentence was cut short by a resounding _boom_. Water exploded over both sides of the damaged craft. A shock-wave sent waves of water rippling out in all directions. A dark, thick, ink obscured any visibility the water once had. "Ruby…."

"Yeah?"

All four crew members swiveled on their heels and saw a sopping wet girl slumped against the safety-rail on the other side. "Ruby! We thought you were still down there! What was with that whole 'if I don't come back' thing?"

The girl laughed. "I can't believe you bought that, as if I'd trust you to help the people I care about.-"

"Is this going to be a regular thing? I _saved your life_ a few minutes ago! Are we just going to ignore that?" Apparently so, as Ruby continued without missing a beat.

"- Besides, I have a speed semblance, do you really think I couldn't use that to _swim_ faster? Of course I got out. Which side of the boat I surface on becomes considerably less important when I've put a time bomb in a gigantic squid. I wasn't worried for a second, but it's nice to see you care." She smirked at him.

Ozpin smiled, while his nephew gave Hunter an apologetic look, clearly these two were used to this nonsense. Luckily it was obvious that the Captain had been just as concerned as he, considering both of them were still trying to take deep breaths and calm down.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at the mess of black ink the boat was slowly drifting away from. As the wind caught in the sails, the ship cruised through the much calmer water. The black murkiness from the Grimm's final remains was clearing exceedingly quickly too. As she watched it though, it didn't look to be clearing up, so much as traveling away from the ship. It headed back to the Grimm's death location.

"Uh, guys, we might have a problem." The muck that was ejected in the creature of darkness's final act was making a beeline for a shape that broke the surface. The liquid vanished into the massive body of Maw, which had swum to it's deceased brethren. "Correction; we have a _huge_ fucking problem!"

The black, white, and red shark absorbed the darkness, and grew with it. The body was still hidden beneath the waves, but it's fin increased considerably in size. What once stuck two feet out of the water was nearly double that now, still growing slowly. The curved front took on a much more angular and sharper appearance. The water began to part as the top of it's back broke the surface.

"What say we use that engine now, captain?" asked Ozpin. "If we leave now we may make it to port before it has a good opportunity to strike. I realize leaving it alive will most likely, how do I say it…."

"Come back to bite us in the ass?"

The headmaster sighed. " _Despite_ the presence of a better term, Marvin, yes. But we're in no condition to fight now. I've never seen this before, but it cannot be good."

Ruby walked up to Tom, "Just saying, we may want to find an alternate method of travel for our return. At least we know why it followed you. Either something killed you, or you killed it, and Maw got stronger. No matter what, he won."

As the captain went to start the engine and get the boat moving at it's maximum speed, Ruby went up to the bow to look at the state of the ocean that surrounded them.

The seas had calmed, and the clouds vanished from the sky. As the first rays of sun returned to the water, the six foot tall dorsal fin of the shark Grimm vanished beneath the waves. With daylight guiding them, and the oppressive fog gone, Ruby set her sight ahead of the ship. Just visible rising above the ocean, was a sight for sore eyes.

"Land ho!"

* * *

 **Yes, I did fake-out Ruby's death twice in one chapter, neither particularly convincing, I'm sure. The first time is me starting a sort of Jaune-like arc (get it? Badum-tish) where Hunter starts improving and becoming more relevant to their bigger problems. Actually, I hadn't really noticed until this chapter, but I'm making him very Jaune-like.**

 **As for the physical description of Hunter Raines, Dragon441 never actually gave one, and it had slipped my mind so far. I decided that we needed _some_ idea of what he looked like, so I went for how I first imagined him.**

 **Also the Grimm:**

 **Arapaina= Arapaima**

 **Bladefish= Sailfish (but the name is from sword fish, whatever)**

 **Maw (name of that one, not the species)= great white shark**

 **Kraken= Squid/octopus (or, ya know, _the Kraken_ )**

 **Originally, I thought about killing off Tom, but they needed someone to pilot the boat, and after Vicki telling Ruby to make sure he came back in one piece, that was too easy. If/when he dies, I hope it won't be so obvious that it's coming. Also, brownie points if you can figure out who Tom/Vicki are (the weapon, as well as the whole boat thing has nothing to do with it. I just needed a faunus family, and they needed to fill this role). A hint is that Connor, the dog faunus, also ties into this. Either way, I'll say what I mean in the next chapter.**

 **See you next week, that's right, thanks to me being late, now you get two back to back!**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Important ANs this time, actually read!**_

 **Okay, so I'll make this quick. I recently realized that (though this should have been obvious to me earlier) my pacing is _much_ slower than the original.**

 **In Tragic Assumptions, one chapter saw Team RWBY negotiate a deal to finally settle down in Haven, agree to fight an army of Grimm, beat the crap out of some cocky soldiers, Ruby fought and consumed the soul of all Grimm, they went to a spa, trained for a week, and then set up for the sequel.**

 **In this story, I've had a single conversation fill an entire chapter.  
**

 **There's a very clear difference, and looking back, not one I'm happy with. So, I'm trying out something to speed up the pacing. Let's play a game: read this and try to guess how many chapters it was originally going to be, and then think of how many it _should_ be. Also in the end notes, there will be one other important thing that I need some feedback on, so take the time to read those too!**

 **Please remember to leave feedback, follow favorite, or badmouth me to your friends as "that one moron who write that garbage fanfic". Whatever it is, have fun doing it!**

 **Thanks, Minesniper**

* * *

(Chapter 9)

"What the hell was that, Ozpin?" Beacon's former headmaster shook his head sadly.

"Alas, I do not know Tom. By all outward appearances, 'Maw', as you have named it, is capable of absorbing the power of dead Grimm. With the strength of such a large Grimm, it will be exponentially more dangerous."

The vessel had made it's way close to shore. As the Brass Wake sailed North, parallel to the coast of Mistral, Hunter took in the coastline of the foreign continent. He hadn't even set foot on land, yet he could tell it was a vastly different environment. Far from the green forests, rolling hills, and beautiful mountains of Vale, beyond the coastline, only marshes could be seen. Off in the distance, a tree line was visible, but they were shorter and denser than the trees of his homeland.

With the clear day having driven Maw beneath the sea, the ship confined itself to the shallowest water it was safe in, and neared the home of Tom Harris's friend. After several hours of quiet, the crew still recovering from the massive Grimm attack, the faunus captain called out to the other four. "We're here!"

Up ahead, a pier stuck out from the coast. The wooden planks connected to a concrete pathway, which led to a medium sized house. The two story home stood proudly on top of a hill, overlooking the sea and acting as a beacon for their ship.

They reached the pier and secured themselves to it, tying ropes to the cleats to keep the ship from floating away. As they disembarked, a middle-aged man exited the building and jogged to the new arrivals.

When he drew near, Hunter could easily tell he was a dog faunus, since he had floppy ears hanging on the sides of his head. Though he'd never say it, he was too polite to, Hunter thought they looked a bit ridiculous.

"Well, Tom, nice to see you again! Should I get their rooms ready for the night?" Tom shook his head.

"No, Connor. They just needed to get here, not escape from anyone. They'll be heading out as soon as they get their stuff out of the hold. I, on the other hand, could use a room. I'll have to wait here and make repairs to Brass Wake, and I may not even be able to sail her back."

Noticing the damage the ship had sustained for the first time, Connor's eyes widened. "What the heck happened to it?"

"You remember those stories about 'the Kraken'?"

"Oh you're freaking kidding me!"

Hunter was walking by at that moment and spoke up, "no he isn't. But it isn't the damage that he's afraid of. We killed that thing, what's still out there is the problem."

When his old friend gave him a questioning look, Tom continued. "Maw finally made it's move. It _absorbed_ the Kraken's power when it died. I swear, it's fin doubled in size. It's got to be fifty feet long now! It's always followed me before, and I'm not going out with that monster and no backup."

"What did you do to piss off the Grimm? You've never had to deal with that sort of stuff before." Ruby pulled her black hood further down as she passed them, knowing she was most likely responsible for the increased attention the ship had drawn.

The two faunus went inside, still talking about the voyage, while the four humans finished unloading their gear from the damaged ship. When they were all packed up, they prepared to venture into the foreign land. "Should we say goodbye to Tom first?" Hunter asked.

"Let them catch up." Said Ozpin. "They deserve some time together. They were in a big fight a few years back, but some faunus-hunters attacked them, and they ended up saving each other's lives. After all that's happened, to Remnant and to them, I think the two should be allowed to chat."

After a final check, the group set off into the woods with their map and compass out, ready to navigate their way to Haven.

* * *

' _This place sucks_ '

As it turns out, that tree-line in the distance was the beginning of a swamp. A swamp, mind you, that covered over two thirds of the continent. Home to pleasant creatures such as the crocodile, mosquito, and venomous snake! The Grimm may be gone for the most part, but the wildlife aren't the most forgiving either.

The only thing between them and the muddy waters which held unseen threats was the damaged asphalt they tread upon. What was once surely a major highway, was now little more than a pathway already in the process of being reclaimed by nature. The sides of the road were cracked and pieces had been dislodged, now laying somewhere in the muck inside the swamp's water.

While it wasn't a pleasant place, a road was much better than trekking through this mess, and anything was preferable to getting back on the water at this point. While the highway allowed them easier movement, the long, straight tunnel formed by the road being penned in from both sides by trees, while their leaf covered branches filtered out most of the sunlight, seemed to go on forever. Unlike when the group hiked through mountains, now Hunter could see _exactly_ how far they had to go, and it wasn't pretty.

From what he'd seen on the map, they had to follow this road up around the Mistral Sea, then cross the snowy mountains in the north. After that it was another day hiking East to reach Haven.

' _Lovely._ '

Hunter took a deep breath, and prepared for a long, tiring walk through the swamp.

* * *

"Is it sad that I'm excited at the prospect of hiking up giant, snow covered mountains?" Asked Roll as the four sat around their campfire.

"Not at all." Replied Hunter. "I am too, that's what _a week_ of continuous swamp will do to you. Seriously, _who_ thought settling on this continent was a good idea?"

Ruby just shrugged. "It's better near the cities, the developed areas aren't nearly as bad. Though I did hear somewhere because of the swampy land, Mistral was slowly sinking."

Marvin grinned, "Really? It's sinking?"

Ruby smiled back. "Yeah. I heard a joke about it too; 'officials say that in 100 years, Mistral will sink 5 inches. That is, unless we can find some way to speed it up!'"

They all shared a laugh at this; one that was cut off as they heard a loud growling. "What was that?"

Ozpin's eyes narrowed as he scanned the darkness surrounding them. "Congratulations Miss Rose, it would seem you're rather popular with the Grimm after all." Staring back at him were four glowing red eyes. They separated into pairs as the two Ursa Majors circled around the camp.

"God dammit, seriously? As soon as we find out where my team is, you're telling me how to get this pink aura back in me!"

Hunter tried to calm the two down, he was unsuccessful. "Don't worry about it guys, it's just a couple of Ursai, I heard hunters like you took them down all the time." Ruby shook her head at him.

"Those Grimm passed through the Grimm barriers, they were a fraction of their normal strength. The first Grimm my team ever met beyond the Grimm barrier nearly killed all of us. We need to be _really_ careful about this. Ozpin, can we get some light here?"

Again, Ozpin created a symbol on the ground, and a ball of light rose from it, bathing the area in a pale green glow. When the two bear Grimm were illuminated, Hunter realized their true size. Each one was the size of a tank, the spines sticking from their backs sharp and sturdy. Armored like a Boarbatusk and with the claws of a Beowulf, these were the epitome of the Ursa species.

Ruby's leadership instincts kicked in immediately, ordering her three companions into action. Marvin, Hunter, and Ozpin were to kill the smaller of the bears, while she used her speed to keep the big one occupied.

The first thing Hunter and Marvin noticed about these Ursa was that they moved unlike any Grimm they had met before. Their speed surpassed even that of the Beowolves, and they managed to stay on their hind legs longer than should be possible for the normally quadrupedal monsters.

As Roll jumped over it, and Hunter stabbed at it's legs, Ozpin stood back, watching for an opening. When the massive bear swung it's paw at Hunter, the man ducking out of it's way, Beacon's former headmaster sprung into action.

Dashing forwards with speed unbecoming of his age, he struck the Ursa with his cane too rapidly for it to react. Finishing his onslaught with a powerful jab, the beast shrugged it off and clawed at him once more. Dodging the attack so quickly that his movement was blurred, Ozpin retaliated immediately, once again seeming to cause no harm to the gigantic monster.

Each strike that the humans could land on the behemoth was nothing but a nuisance to it. Luckily, despite the impressive speed for it's species, the Ursa was just too slow. That was, until Hunter had the misfortune to trip on a lone root hidden in the darkness. This was all the Ursa needed. Pinning both his arms down with a the crushing weight of it's body, the untrained warrior was helpless to it's next attack. Ozpin made a decision he hoped he wouldn't have to.

Raising his hand, he pointed at the helpless man and summoned a ball of green energy around him. The shield not only rebuffed the savage bite aimed at Hunters throat, but it _threw_ the offending Grimm off him entirely!

' _Was that his semblance?_ ' Looking over at the gray-haired man, Hunter saw little bolts of green energy shooting off him. In a flash, the hunter disappeared, reappearing next to the beast faster than any of them could see. His cane became shrouded in the same green light, and upon hitting the monstrous Grimm, knocked in on it's back.

Leaping towards the exposed stomach of the Ursa Major, Ozpin stabbed at it's heart with all his might.

* * *

Ruby Rose was fast, possibly the fastest person on Remnant, but this bear was getting _really_ annoying. Just like the first Ursa she encountered outside the Grimm barrier, this one was getting stronger and faster as it fed off her negative emotions. To counteract this, Ruby did everything she could to think of happy things. It seemed stupid, but it was her best shot at keeping this thing within the realm of possibility to defeat.

She focused on the times her friends spent at Beacon; the feeling of joy she had when her team stuck up for her after the misunderstanding with Red Ruby. Her mind played through the happiest moments she had experienced, making friends, Yang bringing back Scruff, getting back to civilization after months beyond the Grimm barriers.

' _Haven_ ' she remembered their time there, ' _Getting to actually sleep in a real bed, teaching those over-confident soldiers a lesson, fighting side-by-side against the Grimm, but then…_ ' She couldn't help it, even if they were going after her friends, even if they were still alive, it was a painful memory.

When her thoughts turned to it, she knew that her mistake was going to be costly. The Ursa swung faster, hit harder, it's claws seemed to sharpen, spines growing longer and armor thickening. As Ozpin's light reflected off the ivory plates, Ruby ducked and dodged the strikes directed at her. ' _Need to think of happier things! Uh… Dad being excited when I told him I was going to Beacon, Mom and her cookies, Uncle Qrow teaching me how to use a scythe!_ '

It was like her life was flashing before her eyes, looking at every joyous moment she could remember, yet it wasn't enough. Her soul was fractured, filled with anger and sadness. Her eyes constantly red like Yang's were when she was mad. And with the Grimm growing stronger, slowly due to her efforts albeit, her distracted mind was not helping her situation.

A paw's back-swing caught the huntress in the chest and sent her flying. When her back hit a tree, her head snapped back into it as well. Not wanting a repeat of the Kraken, instead of trying to give herself time to recover, Ruby simply pushed off the tree in a random direction using her semblance to propel herself further.

Reorienting herself, the scythe-wielder discovered she was in the middle of the field once more, and the lumbering Ursa was charging toward her, intent on tearing her to shreds. Ruby swung her scythe around and pressed the blade to her side and the shaft against her back. Her finger was on the trigger, ready to spin around and deal a devastating blow, provided it found a chink in the natural plate-mail the creature possessed.

Then something unexpected happened. Halfway across the clearing, the creature of Grimm exploded into light as a green bolt of energy shot into it. When she looked back, it was gone. Ozpin stood several yards away, leaning on his cane and breathing heavily, the other two boys looking at him in shock. "What was that?" Hunter asked.

Ozpin gave a weary smile. "Magic. It's been a long time since I have had need of it, I hoped it would not be necessary at all, though."

Clearly needing an explanation, the former professor asked the others to gather around the campfire so he could explain. He told them of the truth behind the story of the four maidens, and that he was the wizard in it. "Wait, how are you my uncle if you've been around for… however long ago that was?" Asked Marvin.

"The same way that Qrow Branwen is Ruby's 'uncle'. Technically, Miss Rose, he is your _ex-step-uncle_ , but you are close enough that you consider him an uncle. Marvin, while we are not blood related, your parents were close friends of mine. After their passing, when I took you in, it was simpler for you to call me uncle than explain the situation in full. Likewise, I considered you a nephew of mine."

Ruby was more interested in the seasonal maidens, however, and their potential to aid them. "Professor Ozpin, where are the maidens? If we can find them, they can help too! If they're as powerful as you say they are, then they might be the best way to fight off the White Fang!"

The old wizard shook his head in sadness. "I do not know, Miss Rose. Shortly before you were admitted to my academy, the Fall maiden was attacked and critically wounded. We had been searching for a way to save her, but when the war reached Beacon, we lost power to the school. Without being kept in stasis, her wounds undoubtedly killed her before we could repair the generator." Ruby closed her eyes and hung her head slightly.

"The other three had been warned of her ambush, and were sent into hiding. Originally, they would have resurfaced once the culprit had been found, but with the White Fang's take-over… I doubt they will make appearances any time soon. As for the new Fall maiden, even once the faunus extremist group is dealt with, it will take us decades to find her." Ozpin sighed before continuing.

"In these times, with their inability to utilize their powers, a new maiden would most likely not have survived the White Fang's purging if she were human. There may have been _dozens_ of transfers of power since then, sending this gift across the world, it will be quite a challenge to track it down."

The red-head signed dejectedly before entering her tent for the night. One by one, the others soon went to sleep, eventually leaving Hunter alone to tend the fire and keep watch.

* * *

"Okay, we are finding a different way to travel, I'm not going across Remnant on foot again. This is just ridiculous." Marvin complained. He and Hunter had been particularly vocal about the need to find a faster method of traversing the landscape. The time in the swamp, crossing a frigid mountain range, and pressing on through a forest; this was a hellishly long trip.

 _Two weeks_ , they had spent _two weeks_ on this continent! Only now could they see the once-thriving city in the distance. After trudging through the thick forests, that reminded the group of Vale, for several hours, they finally made it to the ruined wall that surrounded the city.

As the four of them walked through the streets, they could hear the voices of faunus as they went about their business. The city had stalls with scavenged goods or supplies for sale dotted throughout it. Young children climbed across the debris from destroyed buildings, while the adults searched through the rubble for anything of value.

Hunter had expected a large White Fang presence; soldiers marching down streets, banners hung from the roofs, posters on the walls. Instead they had stumbled across what looked like a massive refugee camp. All of these people were faunus whose homes were destroyed during the war, and now had to struggle just to survive. It was broad daylight, and the area was full of people, but nobody noticed the humans. ' _They're all too busy just trying to get by. Why would they care about us even if they noticed?_ '

Still, they tried to stick to back-alleys and less public areas. Hunter and Roll were both dressed normally, but Ozpin was still in his signature green suit, while Ruby donned the black cloak, as well as her black and red attire. The two of them weren't particularly inconspicuous.

Suddenly, Ruby stopped in her tracks. "I know where we are! This was the hotel we stayed at! The hospital is only a few blocks… that way." She said this last part as she pointed to their left. "Come on!"

The leader of the missing team began to jog in the direction she had indicated. When they arrived at the entrance, it was clear the building had seen better days. The glass on the automatic doors was smashed, and with the opening function broken, small handles had been welded on to allow people to drag it open and closed.

When they entered, a woman who they could only assume was a nurse, since it didn't look like anyone bothered with uniforms at this point, looked up at them. Her eyes widened and she rushed over quickly. "What are you doing? Do you want to get caught? Hurry, get in here, their patrol should be coming by any minute now!" Grabbing Ruby's arm, the woman dragged her to a door, while the others followed behind. "Get in, and don't make a sound."

The four of them crowded into a small room that had it's windows boarded over. They waited quietly, somewhat annoyed at being crowded into a small room, but they complied since there must have been a reason. A few minutes later, the reason became quite obvious.

Some yelling was heard from down the hall. Among the shouting they could discern a deep voice say, "I understand you don't like it, but you don't have a say in the matter! We _will_ search the premises if we think it's necessary!"

Though the boards on the window completely obscured their view out of the room, they could hear doors being flung open as White Fang troops searched for hidden humans. That's when they heard the voice of the nurse they had first met.

"Actually, sergeant, I had something I wanted to speak with you about." Her voice was right outside their door. Footsteps approached her, and the gruff voice spoke again. "If you don't mind, first I'd like to check this room."

The woman quickly replied by saying, "Actually, that's what I hoped to tell you about."

' _She's selling us out!_ '

"We've just discovered what looks like a resurgence of Valean Flu, we're trying to contain the infected in this de facto quarantine room, but we were wondering if the White Fang has any medical staff who can try to search for a cure. Last time this got loose, it killed 600,000 people, and we'd rather not have a repeat."

There was silence for a moment before the faunus extremist gave his reply. "Where's the doctor who made the diagnosis?"

"Well, he's in there, obviously! You know how contagious it is, the second he went into the room for the patient he was screwed. Look, can you just go in there and tell me if you think there are enough to warrant some assistance from the White Fang?"

The four occupants of the room smiled as they realized what was going on. "Not a chance in Hell! I'm not killing myself for a bunch of strangers. Your people, your problem, _you_ deal with it. Come on boys, there's nobody here, let's go!"

A few minutes later, the door reopened, and two people entered. The first was the nurse who had saved them, the next was an old rat faunus. "That was a close one you four." He said in a raspy voice. "Now, how can I help you? If you've got sick friends, there isn't much I can do, I'm afraid. We've been low on medicine as of late."

Ruby stepped forwards, drawing his attention. "Actually, I wanted to ask something; how long have you worked here?" The rat looked at her, puzzled.

"23 years. I came here from the Mistral City Hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Why?"

Ruby smiled in relief. "So you were here when the Grimm attacked. I know you must have had a lot of patients afterwards, but do you remember three girls being found unconscious?"

He thought for a moment before his eyes lit up. "We have a lot of people who matched that description, _but_ there were three that were unique! Am I right in assuming you're interested in the 'Limbo Patients'?"

The four of them looked confused before returning their attention to him. "Maybe, who are they?"

"They were three girls recovered from the battlefield. None of them were responsive, and showed no signs of recovering. Eventually somebody decided they weren't going to wake up, and without anyone coming to their defense, we pulled the plug. Only thing was, they didn't die. They still had a heartbeat, they still breathed on their own. Some coma patients do that, but they didn't seem to need any equipment at all to keep them going."

Ruby nodded excitedly. "I think it's them! Tell me what happened!"

The doctor smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well, eventually we found that they still needed food and water to survive, and they wouldn't wake up, but otherwise they were in perfect health. They got the name because it seemed like they were in-between life and death, and couldn't get out. Eventually, the kingdoms decided this needed to be researched, and since we were still dealing with the damages caused by the Grimm, they were sent to the other capitals."

Ruby was ecstatic, they were okay! She began firing questions at the man, and he answered as quickly as possible.

They learned that after Weiss had been recognized, the others were soon identified, and they were sent to the nations that they logically belonged in. Weiss was brought to Atlas, so she could be closer to her family. That was also the same reason that Vale requested that Yang Xiao Long be transferred to their facilities. And Blake, being faunus, was sent to Vacuo. It was known for being more accepting of Faunus, due to their high numbers there, and the other kingdoms already had their patients.

Each kingdom was researching what made them this way, Ruby was worried they would perform dangerous experiments on them, but the physician calmed her down. "The medical personnel of the world had found three girls who seemed to be unkillable. Do you really think they would risk doing something that _could_ harm them? No, they were very careful with them. Now it's just a rumor, but I heard that any scientists who signed up with the White Fang went to Vale or Vacuo to study them too; the prospect of immortality is reason enough to spare a few humans, I'd imagine."

The group's blood ran cold when they realized he left out Atlas. It was Ozpin who spoke up first. "Excuse me, would you care to explain why they did not do the same with Miss Schnee?"

The doctor donned a grim expression. "That is something I cannot say. Maybe her family name was too much for them to ignore and they killed her, perhaps it was that there was an accident, it could be that she woke up. There are many theories that my colleagues have formulated, but one in particular seemed likely to me."

He paused for a moment before finishing his thought.

"The Schnee family was rich, powerful, and always paranoid of the faunus attacking them. What if the heiress was saved, maybe she was transferred to a hidden location. I don't know, but I hope that she is okay. Were it not for her and her friends, this city would have been leveled long before war broke out, and all of us inside it's walls dead along with it." At this, Ruby gave a small smile.

"Thank you, for everything." She said, no doubt happy both that they were okay, and that not all of her actions resulted in people getting hurt.

As the four of them left the hospital, Hunter's eyes widened and he breathed out a curse. "What is it?"

He rubbed his temples as he explained his shift in mood. "We're going to have to go across the ocean again, _and_ travel across _all_ of the continents!" The others laughed before realizing that it _was_ going to be a nuisance.

"Tell you what." Ruby said. "I'm going to make an executive decision here, and say one way or another, we get a bullhead. I don't know about you guys, but I'm _not_ walking again." The others nodded their heads in agreement.

Suddenly, they heard yelling and running. The four of them pressed themselves against the wall as they looked around for the source. Down the road, they noticed a group of armed faunus wearing Grimm masks run into an alley. Shortly after, a purple flash lit up the entrance to the side-street, and several of them were flung back out into the street.

Ruby unfurled Crescent Rose. "Well, anyone else want to see what's going on?" The others grabbed their weapons and ran over to the fight. ' _This is going to be fun_ ' Ruby thought to herself.

* * *

 **Okay, so first tell me how many you think there were originally, then how many you would have liked them broken up into. I cut out a lot of pointless stuff, and I'm trying to move this forwards, while not making _every single_ occurrence something that shoots the plot forwards like a rail-gun. ****It was originally going to be 3-4 chapters depending on how long I made certain parts. Yeah, that means I cut out 4-6 weeks of waiting, can you see why I am kicking myself right now? Anyways onto the other question which _will_ affect where this story goes.**

 **One other realization I've had is that what was originally meant to be a dark story, is instead quickly turning into a lighter one. The saddest thing that's happened to a character thus-far has been Ruby having to leave Scruff, and she'll come back and get him eventually! With that said, some dark stuff will be coming, but I want to know how far I can push the envelope before I do something that makes this story dis-interesting (I.E. how so many people left when they thought Team RWBY was actually dead).**

 **So please tell me what your favorite part of the story is, or rather, what you're looking forwards to the most. I had a conversation with one reader whose sole reason for reading this is waiting for Ruby and Weiss to get together again and for Whiterose to continue. For example, if the dark thing that happens was Weiss dying, it's pretty much guaranteed they would unfollow this. If the only reason you read is gone, why bother staying around? So, _please_ let me know why you're still reading, that way I know what to try to avoid. If it's a certain character you love or can't wait to see again, let me know; they may not be as safe as you think!**

 **In summary, even if you're just a guest who drops by to see if it's uploaded another chapter, or if you don't have any actual suggestions or criticisms about this chapter, _please_ answer the questions so I know if my new pacing is a good or bad idea, and what to avoid doing so you don't lose the best part of this story. Please don't say "do whatever you want, it's your story." because the whole reason I took it on is because I was sad that it was being ended. I did it so the others who enjoyed it wouldn't have to lose it, and that makes continuing pointless if I alienate all of you!**

 **Thanks, Minesniper**

* * *

 **Oh, by the way I said I'd do this so; the faunus from the last few chapters were based on the main characters from the Disney movie 'The fox and the hound'**

 **Vicki (female fox faunus) is Vixie (red fox)**

 **Tom (male fox faunus) is Tod (red fox)**

 **Their last name (Harris) in the movie Tom is taken in by a woman (named 'Widow Tweed'). Harris Tweed is a type of cloth. Harris and Tweed are both** **last names of people I've met in real life (I believe they're fairly common).**

 **Connor (dog faunus) is Copper (hound dog)**

 **I mentioned they got in a fight, but saved each other from faunus hunters. In the movie, Tom saves Copper and his master from a bear; in return, Copper saves Tom from his master who's been hunting Tom throughout the movie.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey look at that, late twice; aren't I fantastic?**

 **Okay, to be fair, last time I was late, it was my fault. This time, I didn't ever get the chance. I write late at night on weekends, and the fact I was gone both weekends that I would have spent writing this made it impossible to get out. I also wrote this _and_ my Family Gifts chapter all on Friday (it's my spring break, and I only got back home on Friday) and today, so don't think I'm slowing down.**

 ** _Important_ : I have a poll that will determine what story I write next. I have ideas and some plans written up for each option, but I want to get ahead on outlining my chapters so that I'm ready to get into it when the time comes. PLEASE vote, I genuinely want your input, also I'm indecisive as f*ck. The descriptions for each are in my profile near the bottom, for reference, the lightest of the options is 'The Red Wolf' and the darkest is 'A Faded Rose', in case that affects your opinion.**

 **Without further ado; chapter 10! Now you get to see the first original cast member reunited with the group, and we get to move between cities without spending four chapters on it; hooray! Please remember to review -guest or account, like it or not-, and if you did enjoy it, follow it (favorites are nice, but I like knowing how many people like coming back to read more).**

* * *

(Chapter 10)

Glynda Goodwitch was having a rather bad day. For starters, a member of the family she had come so far to protect when she heard the Mistral had suffered a massive Grimm attack, was sick. Her youngest niece had a fever, and was bedridden for the better part of three days. With supplies limited in their hide-out, she had to visit every medical center in the city.

Her efforts proving useless at the pediatricians, two hospitals, and a couple pharmacies, she tried her luck with a local herbalist. Unfortunately, unlike the others, this was a faunus who had suffered the cruelty humanity was capable of first-hand, and a White Fang supporter because of it.

He turned her away, and she thought nothing of it, it was a running theme for the day apparently. She later discovered there was more to the situation when she spotted him out in the city. More accurately, they spotted each other, and he pointed her out to the Grimm-mask wearing soldiers he had rallied since her visit.

As a huntress, her reflexive impulse was to whip out her riding crop and fire several balls of energy at the band of faunus. Unlike the good old days of being a public hero, the human volleying shots at others caused panic and fear. Anyone nearby scattered, no doubt many would search for help from more militant faunus.

The White Fang was slow to mobilize, but once they were moving, it was a nigh impossible to escape their sights. Either you killed all who came, until they gave up, or you managed to get away before they could pin down your location. If you couldn't, they would overwhelm you with numbers at first, if you managed to last long enough against them, your efforts would be rewarded with their elite soldiers; kill squads.

When it was over, there were two fates for the defeated human. Either they would simply be executed, or the White Fang would enslave them. Many stragglers from the war had been shipped to Menagerie, nobody ever escaped there, so the only stories of it came from White Fang pilots who flew people to the continent occasionally. It did not sound inviting to the huntress.

With the soldiers recovering from her barrage, Goodwitch fled down a side alley, crossed a street, then entered another. The blonde woman swiveled her head left and right, desperately searching for a place to hide as she sprinted through the narrow passage. As she ran, a shard of brick hit her in the head, having been dislodged from the wall above her by gun-fire. She felt a trickle of blood running down her pale forehead, but she didn't slow down.

As soon as she broke free of the two buildings, the human turned right and ran down the street, determined to get away from her pursuers. It was then that an alarm sounded, all the faunus citizens scrambled back to shelter and closed their doors and windows. Looking ahead of her, Glynda swore.

Less than a block away, another two squads of troopers with dust rifles charged in her direction. Pivoting on her left foot, the former Beacon teacher dashed into another side-street. About halfway through it, the other end was filled with the bodies of White Fang soldiers with their guns raised.

Without a second thought, Goodwitch flicker her weapon, and a purple orb flew toward the group. When it came within a few feet, it burst into light. Having averted her eyes, the professor was spared, but the faunus blocking her way had been flung back by the force, while those behind her dropped their weapons and covered their eyes; cursing their excellent night-vision. Placing a barrier glyph behind her, Glynda sealed her path and took off once more.

When she jumped over one of the unconscious terrorists, she saw four more figures running at her from the right. Not able to make out any distinguishing characteristics, Goodwitch fired a beam of energy at the lead form, hoping to give the others pause for thought.

Immediately, the runner vanished, particles blowing in the wind where they had stood. A tap on her shoulder startled to woman, so she swung her riding crop towards the enemy who managed to sneak up on her.

She faltered at the last minute when she saw the impractically large scythe held up to block her swing. "R… Ruby Rose?"

"Sorry for being late to class Ms. Goodwitch, the police wanted to have a word with me about something. Did I miss anything important?"

* * *

"Glynda, it is good to see you again, however we can catch up later." Ozpin was speaking with his former colleague as the five of them crept through the city, groups of White Fang all over the place. "Right now, we require an airship, and we must evade the White Fang forces that are hunting us."

"Where are you going?" The combat instructor asked.

"We are searching to reunite Ms. Rose's team. We know each of the other kingdoms has one, and we decided that traveling back across by sea is… less than desirable. It is good to have you with us though, it has been far too long."

The middle-aged huntress shook her head. "I'm sorry Oz, but I can't go. I can't leave my family, especially now with Dottie coming down with something. I have to put them first." The headmaster let out a thoughtful "hmm" before responding.

"We'll bring them with us. Once we have better transportation, we will no longer need to worry about the combat prowess of our company. All we need is a safe area for them to hunker down in until this is all over. I think I have just the place." Although she was apprehensive, Goodwitch knew that Mistral wasn't safe, especially with her presence telegraphed to the whole terrorist organization. "Okay, but we get them to safety, _then_ we go on your crazy adventure."

The group found their way to a run-down building and took cover inside as they formulated a plan. "Alright, the White Fang probably took over Haven International Airport for their primary airbase; if we can get in there, we can easily hijack a bullhead or two. The only two issues are guards and anti-air. None of us know what to expect in these regards, but they can both be dealt with" Ruby said.

Pointing back the way they came, the scythe-wielder explained. "I can use my semblance to evade capture for however long I need to. I'll draw as much attention as possible, get their forces to chase after me. Eventually they'll call for backup, when they do, make your move. I'd say two of you on search and destroy for any possible AA guns, the other two secure a few ships. By the time I get back, we need to be ready to go."

Ozpin shook his head. "It never ceases to amaze me just how much like Summer you are. You would have made an excellent team leader, had you been given more time. It is unfortunate your skills were not put to the test in a more… controlled… environment."

Ruby flashed a smile, though Glynda's eyes widened when she saw it. Having been a huntress for many years, she knew the look in those silver eyes. It was someone who simply _appeared_ happy. Hunters who had seen too much, victims who were scarred forever before hunters could stop whatever tragedy was unfolding. They had been broken one way or another, but didn't want to cause anyone else to worry. They smiled, hugged, laughed; but none of it was real. They could convince many they were in a state of normalcy, but not her, and not Ozpin.

When Ruby disappeared into a cloud of petals, she asked Ozpin in a hushed whisper, "what happened to her?"

"You two, go on ahead and scout, I need to speak with Glynda about where her family will go." He addressed Hunter and Marvin, both of whom responded with curt nods before exiting. Sighing, he looked back at the huntress. "She has lost the _ability_ to feel joy. It is not so simple as depression, rather this is an issue that stems from her very soul. She knows _how_ she should feel, how she should act, so she mimics it; she should be happy, and she's simply trying to play the part. This is something that only finding her team will truly heal."

"How did that happen?" The professor shook his head at his former colleague. "That is not my story to tell, and I think she will feel it is not your place to ask."

Striding towards the exit, Ozpin looked over his shoulder. "Now come, Ms. Rose is depending on us to secure a trip out of here-" an explosion rocked the city, "-and it would appear our window is open. She does not have any explosive weaponry. Reinforcements have arrived, and we don't have long until she comes for extraction."

* * *

While several vehicles filled with faunus soldiers drove out of a gate in the chain-link fence that surrounded the airport, four humans clambered through holes cut by beams of purple light from Goodwitch's riding crop.

Without being spotted, they split into teams of two. The former staff of Beacon strutted towards the center of a landing strip, their attacks would light up the night, providing a rather effective distraction. In the mean time, the two boys at the end of their teenage years sneaked through the brush that sprung up due to years of neglect.

They had to move around the perimeter quickly, there weren't many, but the few stationary guns located around the base were capable of shooting them down before they had a chance of escaping. When the two Beacon staff members drew the attention of every living thing within a mile with their bright explosions of energy, the other two began to make their way towards the gun emplacements.

"Look, there, several guards." Marvin pointed out, "You take them out, I'll get the cannon."

Hunter grabbed his shoulder before his partner could sneak off. "Great plan, with only one flaw; they're all armed with heavy weapons, and I can't get close enough in time." He told the truth. Four White Fang troopers surrounded this particular defensive position, each carrying an automatic shotgun, and a sword slung across their back.

Few guns gave aura users pause for thought, but with their effectiveness in close quarters coupled with their power and rate of fire, automatic shotguns definitely made the list. Hunter could take on one, two in a pinch, but five was more than enough to keep both humans at bay; and that wasn't accounting for any of them being aura users themselves.

"Don't worry, trust me on this. I have to wait for the last second."

With a disgruntled groan, Hunter leapt toward the faunus, readying his sword to strike. His blade sung as it sliced into the first soldier's shoulder, leaving the man to fall to the ground and clutch at it. His four fellows turned at the new threat, and raised their guns. Hunter braced for the impact, hoping his aura would be strong enough to keep him alive.

Before any of their barrels were positioned to fire at their intended target, however, all of the weapons began to disintegrate. Starting at the muzzle of the shotguns, they rapidly turned to sand, and were blown away by a warm breeze.

As the dust shotguns vanished into thin air, Hunter struck down another extremist, before spinning around and catching the third one unprotected as his hands went for the sword on his back. The last of the soldiers managed to ready his blade, and engaged Hunter.

The two struck at each other, crossing swords and putting all their strength behind their blades. Hunter spun on his foot, redirecting the enemy's sword, while simultaneously lashing out with a kick. The faunus hopped backwards, readied himself, then charged forwards again.

Hunter ducked beneath a horizontal slash, then brought his weapon straight up into the White Fang's chest. Only that's not what happened; instead of piercing the soldier's chest and coming out the other side, it bounced off as it met a dark green aura.

The angered terrorist kicked Hunter in the face, then punched him in the gut as he stumbled away. Hit one more time in the face by the hilt of the faunus's sword, Hunter fell back onto the ground. His cheek touched the cool grass, as he looked toward the gun emplacement.

Marvin had torn open a panel, and ripped out some wires. Once he had done so, he turned to see his partner with a satisfied smile, only for it to drop when he saw Hunter's position. Looking back up, the man saw his opponent's weapon swinging down at him. When he tried to scramble out of the way, Hunter felt a bolt of pain shoot up his leg. Collapsing back down, he looked back to see the gash across his left leg, and the faunus approaching him; a malicious grin on his face as he raised his sword to deal the final blow.

Just then, his sword was shot out of his hand, Marvin running towards the pair. The boy put his weapons away, and jumped into the air. Kicking Hunter's attacker in the face, the two of them landed on the ground.

The injured human pushed himself into a sitting position to see what was happening. He could see Marvin had the soldier by the throat. The latter of the two was desperately grabbing at the hands, but to no avail. Hunter expected Marvin to strangle the man, but the pain evident on the faunus's face suggested something even worse.

The struggling died down, and Hunter could see why. The dead man's neck was now just a pile of sand, dampened by the damp grass. Slowly, the rest of the body followed suit, and turned into the tiny particles, before sticking to the ground or being blown away.

"Marvin…." Hunter said in a quiet voice. The other man looked at him, before realizing what he'd just done, and stepping back. "Hunter… I'm… I'm sorry you had to see that…."

"What _was_ that?"

The other person sighed. "It was my semblance. Look, I'll explain more later, but I still have to take care of these guns, and you're in no position to go anywhere." Marvin was right, Hunter wouldn't be able to support his own weight, let alone continue fighting.

"Okay, just help me get to a bullhead. When you're out there on your own, don't bother with the guards. Now that you know where they are, just do your… sand-evaporating-thing… to the wires. Don't take any risks." Marvin nodded in agreement, then helped pick his friend up, and they made their way towards the vehicles.

* * *

' _Same old White Fang, can't aim for shit._ ' Ruby thought. She had been making total fools of her pursuers as she jumped, ducked and dodged their gunfire. Leaping up, Ruby used her semblance to propel herself up to the roof of a nearby building, running across the rooftops with the White Fang on the ground chasing after her.

Occasionally, a brave pilot would try to make a strafing run and shoot Ruby down with their bullhead's Gatling gun. Said pilot would quickly learn the error of their ways as the huntress would use her semblance to reach the aircraft, and plunge her scythe's blade into the cockpit. ' _Idiots_ '.

As she and the aircraft reached the ground -her on a roof, it in a fiery explosion on the street a block away- Ruby Rose took off sprinting once more. Dropping down onto a group of unaware faunus, she started running at street-level once more.

Up ahead, a roadblock of armored trucks sat with mounted machine guns turning toward her. Firing Crescent Rose once into each of the gunners, Ruby killed all three. Launching herself onto the vehicles, Ruby searched the vest of the first gunner. Finding several hand grenades, Ruby pulled their pins and dropped one in each truck before shooting off in another cloud of rose petals.

As the cars behind her exploded, Ruby sped through the city to the airport, hoping that extraction was ready.

When she dashed through the gate, Ruby was greeted with the sight of a light-show courtesy of Beacon's former staff members. Purple and Green lit up the sky and captivated the attention of every soldier in the compound.

Ruby set off to find bullheads, as they were clearly behind schedule. When she did, she was greeted with the sight of Hunter sitting with his back against one of the transports, bandaging his leg. "What happened?" Ruby asked him.

Hunter started, he hadn't heard her approach, but quickly recovered and explained the situation to her. "I was injured, Marvin's getting the rest of the anti-air, and Ozpin and Goodwitch are keeping the White Fang occupied."

Leaving him behind, Ruby began starting up two of the bullheads. "Can you fly?" she asked Hunter. "Yes," he responded "I used to be a pilot for Vytal Airlines, before the White Fang attacks. That's when I went out into the country-side with my mother."

"Good, you're flying this one." Ruby said matter-of-factly. "Your leg injury would slow us down, and we can't afford to be wait. Each of the bullheads only has the fuel for one of the trips we need to make, so we need two, and someone has to pilot the other. You have to get Goodwitch's family, Tom and Connor if he's interested, and get them all to the Harris's home. I, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Roll will fly east over the sea, and head straight to Vacuo; I would head to Vale for my sister, but none of these will be able to make that in one trip, and we don't have any more fuel."

Hunter wanted to protest, ' _Is this just another way to get rid of me? No. These need to be done, they need that older huntress, and she needs her family safe. We also have to get Tom back to the mainland, someone has to go, and I'm the one they need least._ ' He nodded his head at Ruby, and used his arms to pull him into the VTOL he was resting against. Dragging himself into the pilot's seat, he started his pre-flight checks.

It was then that Marvin, Glynda, and Ozpin came running to the ships. "The guns are disabled." Marvin proclaimed. Ruby gave him another one of her fake smiles. ' _This is good news, we can leave, and the only injury seems to be in hand; smile._ '

"Okay, everyone load up in mine, we're headed to Mistral. Goodwitch, you can pilot one of these, right?" The witch nodded her head. "I can. But what of my family?"

Ruby pointed at the other bullhead. "Hunter's going to get them, another friend of ours, then get them to a safe place on the west coast of the mainland."

Glynda narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure he can handle it? He has a distinctly… Jaune-ish… feeling to him." ' _That would have been funny._ ' Ruby laughed. "He'll be fine, trust us. Now come on, let's go get Blake!"

The two ships took off. All the White Fang expecting them to be brought down by their guns were surprised when no shots were fired. A camera watched them fly off into the distance.

* * *

The monitor stopped playing the footage of the attack on their primary airbase in Haven. "Rewind that, get as good a look as you can at their faces."

Eventually, each of the five humans had their faces on separate screens, and their identities were being uncovered. Immediately, two of them, the grey haired man and the platinum-blonde haired woman received results.

"Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch of Beacon Academy. They're finally out of hiding. She'll want to hear about this. Keep searching on the others." Several seconds later, the silver eyed woman's file popped up, and the commander read it with a grim expression.

"Ruby Rose, student of Beacon Academy… Admitted two years early, wanted for attempted murder; supposedly caught, then escaped… Popped up in Haven just days before…." His eyes shot open and his grip on his chair tightened. "She's the huntress we're looking for! Tell her that we found Ruby Rose, I don't know what her vendetta is, but it doesn't matter."

The other two human's results came back, but they were nothing of value to the White Fang commander who had recently seen two of their most wanted targets appear at once. Sending out a transmission to one of his lieutenants, he tapped his fingers against the table anxiously. " _Yes sir?"_ came the officer's voice.

"I want Squads Juliett, Kilo, and Lima sent to Vacuo immediately!"

" _Sir, Kill Squad J is still stationed in Vale along with G, H, and I searching for the reported hunter. Should I reassign them?_ " The commander sighed. A hunter had been a particular thorn in their side, disrupting all sorts of operations in Vale. He was also dangerously close to several high value targets. As much as he wanted this business over and done with, he wasn't going to give the man this opening.

"Negative, send Kilo and Lima on their own. Have any of our Atlas Squads found their target yet?"

" _No sir. They are very well hidden. Is there anything else you need?_ " The White Fang leader thought for a moment. With a hunter in Vale, and now _several_ hunters and huntresses spotted flying towards the kingdom of Vacuo –though where in particular was still a mystery-, he would have to make sure he did not lose any more control.

"Get me Major Taurus."

The screen flickered for a moment, before a red and brown haired bull faunus looked back at him. " _Yes General Lupen?_ "

"I need confirmation, somewhat for peace of mind, that Kill Squad Hotel's 'friends' are still alive. I am concerned that growing resistance may make them… braver. I cannot allow dissent within our most elite units."

" _They are alive and well, no problems yet. Sir, about my request for the transfer of patient two_ -"

"It has been denied, _again_." General Lupen was usually patient, with his cunning and care he managed to organize strikes that crippled their enemies within days. After that, it had been a simple matter of cleaning up stragglers. But this officer had requested time and time again for the same thing, and Lupen grew weary of it quickly. Had it not been for being the second leader the White Fang ever had, Adam Taurus would have received some punishment by now.

"Adam, listen to me, it is not feasible to move her. I promise that when we have the situation under control, you will be able to see miss Belladonna again, until then, attend to your duties in Menagerie, and be patient!"

Ending the transmission, the commander leaned back in his chair and sighed. Finally, after _years_ of searching, they found the huntress they had been looking for. ' _I don't know who she is, or what she's done, but I don't care; so long as bringing her down gets this Salem woman off my back._

* * *

 **Yep, that's right, I'm bringing Salem into this. Her plan was completely ruined, all the Grimm are dead, sure humanity's in trouble, but the faunus are still all over the place; she seemed to be favoring total annihilation. I imagine that she's be... well a little bit ticked off to say the least.**

 **So yeah, Hunter's going on a vacation for a bit, he'll be back eventually. There are going to be a lot of people coming together by the end of this, so periodically I'm going to have to send some off here and there to keep some order rather than having 20 highly trained warriors against 5 guys with guns, kinda unfair for them.**

 **Alright, so Kill Squads. They operate in four man teams and exist for the sole purpose of hunting down and eliminating hunters. The best way I can put it will work well for Star Wars fans:**

 **Hunters are like Jedi; they used to be common, and defended the peace. Then in one massive attack, most of them were killed or went into hiding. In this scenario, Kill Squads are clone assassins. Alone, they don't stand much of a chance, but a full team, or multiple teams, pose a real threat to lone hunters. The problem is the more hunters that group up, the more likely they'll be found, and the more teams will be sent.**

 **Thanks for reading, see you next week; we get to see Ruby get angry, and you wouldn't like her when she's angry!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ah, everyone get ready for a lot of _muuurdeeer_ (to be read in a sing-songy voice). I originally had a different plan for how to set it off, but I had to come up with something new. Enjoy!**

* * *

(Chapter 11)

"Ah, Vacuo… 'Do you like brutal heat, sickening rates of crime, and sand that gets abso-fucking-lutely _everywhere_? No? Well too bad!'" Ruby whined. "Seriously, of all the places to send Blake, why here? They _couldn't_ just send them all back to Beacon, or Vale at least." The red haired huntress was slinging a pack over her shoulders as the four travelers prepared to make their way towards the capital of the Vacuan kingdom.

Glynda Goodwitch had set the bullhead down in an intricate formation of red rock. It had large holes throughout it; making the stone into tunnels and arches, allowing for the woman to maneuver the plane into a hidden area.

"Now, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that this is Remnant's shit-hole, meaning they've only got one hospital that could possibly meet the requirements to keep and examine my comatose friend. The bad news is that Vacuo had the highest faunus population in the world, and therefore, a huge White Fang hot-spot even before they became a major power."

Ruby began explaining the plan for infiltrating the city, and how they would get Blake out. "Which brings me a rather important question. Ozpin, how did you plan on retrieving the soul fragments from them?"

"Beneath Beacon, there was a vault. It was originally meant to serve a different purpose, but I suppose none of that matters now. It was a joint effort between us and the Atlesian military to create a machine that was capable of transferring an aura from one body to another. If your friends are still dominated by the fragments of your pink aura, then it will target them, while leaving their souls untouched."

The platinum-blonde huntress interceded in their conversation for a moment. "Wait, what _happened_ to Team RWBY, and what's this about 'fragments of a pink soul'?" The other three just groaned.

"Are we really doing this again? Okay. Look, I'll explain on the way, for now, let's just head out." A very exasperated Ruby answered. "Am I going to have to do this with _everyone_ we come across?"

* * *

The four of them walked up to a large wall constructed mainly of red stone. Once a daunting obstacle for the Grimm, this fortification was in ruins, holes perforated it and it stood unguarded. The nearest 'entrance' was ten feet off of the ground. Luckily, Ms. Goodwitch was able to construct a ramp using fragments of rock and her rather useful riding crop.

Ruby ran into the hole and surveyed what lay beyond it before motioning the others to follow her. As they all stood in the tunnel bored through the wall, they realized just how nice it was to live in Vale. "Well, that's one way to run your government." Marvin remarked.

The "city" had many small buildings, the largest being no more than ten stories. How could they tell there we no taller buildings? Because they could see the entire capital. There were no skyscrapers, almost no buildings that even qualified as tall for that matter. "I can't believe people were happy here." Glynda said as she stared at the desert city.

"Few were." Commented Ozpin. "Either they were too poor to get out, or they were so rich compared to the other inhabitants, that they had incredible power, influence, and status. They didn't _want_ to leave, otherwise they would just become average citizens."

The humans had to be careful as they entered the pitiful excuse for a city. It was broad day-light, there were faunus everywhere, and of course, there was nowhere to hide. "What the Hell was wrong with this place?" Ruby asked, stunned at the poverty these people must have lived in. "It looks like the city planning council constructed _parking spaces_ instead of apartments. Their residential district is a trailer park!"

"Miss Rose, you need to understand something. Life was hard here, significantly more so than in Vale. We had lush landscapes and natural barriers. Vacuo had neither. All of their funding was put into their military, their hunter academies, and civil defense. If the fight with the Grimm was bad back in our kingdom, imagine it here." Ozpin explained. "They simply had to get by with what they could, and many of them accepted this, and focused their energy into simple day-to-day survival."

The red haired girl nodded her head, and said nothing more. They began to see groups of faunus walking about, this prompted them to adjust their route to head through as many back-alleys and side-streets as they could. It proved to be easier said than done, however, as there we're many tall structures to block others' view of them.

As they were carefully treading down one street, they saw a door burst open in front of them. Three people were shoved outside, they were quickly followed by four White Fang soldiers with assault rifles trained on them.

Quickly hiding around a corner, the group was able to hear the shouting of the faunus, and Ruby poked her head around to see what was happening. A man with no distinguishable faunus features stood against a wall with his hands up. In the middle of the road, two rabbit faunuses knelt together, sobs racking their bodies. They seemed to be a mother and daughter, with the latter maybe being only 8 years old.

"Hiding a _human_? You expect mercy from us even though you would harbor one of _them_? No. You will pay for this crime just like everyone else has! I thought you would have learned you place when your husband made the same mistake, but apparently not!" One of the White Fang shouted at them.

A loud crack sounded as the man standing against the wall fell down, blood painting the building behind him. The two on their knees cowered as the troopers directed their attention towards them. Ruby shot a look at Ozpin, who clearly felt the same way. ' _If we help them, we'll telegraph our position the whole White Fang again. If we don't, these people will die!_ '

The two female faunus were shoved up against the wall, shaking in horror as the extremists aimed their weapons at the pair. The one which appeared to be leading the band of murderers laughed. "We already know what will happen to you, but we still have to pass judgment on your daughter." Turning to his fellows, he said, "what do you think is crueler? Killing her, or _not_ killing her?"

Ruby had forgotten such anger was possible. Looking back at the supposed death of her team, she felt despair. Having to go on the run from Beacon was a memory of remorse. When _her_ mother died, it was beyond tragic. However, with all the time since those occurrence, the anger directed at the world had turned into sadness. But right now, Ruby Rose was _furious_.

"I don't know, what do you think little girl, can you live without Mommy?" Another mocked. "Why don't you let us know?" Looking to his leader, he got a nod of confirmation. Placing the stock of his rifle against his shoulder, the faunus fired a single bullet into the woman's side.

Screaming in pain as she collapsed, the mother looked up at her daughter with tear-filled eyes. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Daisy. Just… take care of yourself, Honey. I love you…." She shut her eyes tight and waited for death to come. But instead of gunfire, the mother heard screams.

Opening her eyes, she found two of the White Fang on the ground, whilst the others were running. A loud crack later, and the one furthest away collapsed in a spurt of blood. One more shot and it was all over. Director her attention at her savior, the woman gasped.

A figure clutching a scythe, and obscured by a red cloak, filled her head with thoughts that the reaper had decided to claim the lives of the White Fang soldiers first. When they turned around however, she saw it was a woman with red hair that had saved her. Before she could thank Ruby, a cough indicated that one of her victims was still alive.

Grabbing the man, Ruby lifted him into the air with one arm, the other still holding her beloved Crescent Rose. "Please, don't hurt me, I was just doing what they said." The cowardly faunus pleaded. Ruby almost pitied him, he was the only one that hadn't actually done anything; the others had either taunted them, or shot them. _Almost_ being the key word. Regardless of what _he_ had done, he clearly didn't do anything to stop his comrades.

Ruby seemed to think for a moment before responding. "You're lucky today-"

"Oh thank God!" He cried out.

"I wasn't finished. You're lucky today. If I wasn't on a strict schedule, I would take you apart; _piece by piece_. However, I'm going to have to kill you quickly, as I have more important things to do. I would warn you not to threaten innocent people ever again, but there's not going to _be_ a next time."

With that, Ruby pressed the muzzle of Crescent Rose into the terrorist's stomach and emptied her clip. Dropping the body, she turned to the faunus on the ground who quivered in fear. Offering her hand to the woman, the huntress said, "Nobody should ever grow up without their mother. You promise me that you make sure she doesn't have to." Grabbing hold of the red-head's hand, the mother nodded, before limping off with 'Daisy'.

Looking back in the opposite direction, the enraged girl saw more of these monsters charging towards her. She felt her three friends approach her from behind. Ruby thought she heard them talking, yelling even, but she could not distinguish what they said. Their voices were lost due to the chaotic state her mind was in.

She was _livid_. All she saw enemies that needed to be eliminated. A small part of her was just angry at the world. ' _Why didn't Summer have someone in my place? Why didn't she get someone to show up and save her; someone to make sure I didn't grow up without her?_ ' Her eyes were red, they had been since the day of the Grimm invasion, but now they _glowed_.

Crescent Rose too gave off an ominous, blood-red aura; it radiated death and destruction. She felt her weapon lighten as it became entirely comprised of her aura. The once smooth top now sported many jagged and deadly spike, the blade lengthened and became sharper. The spear at it's bottom bent sideways and then grew outwards.

In seconds, Crescent Rose had transformed from Ruby's beloved scythe into two nightmarish scythes pointing in opposite directions with jagged tops connected by the hilt. The only difference between the two heads was that one had an opening for Ruby's shots to exit.

Twirling this new and unheard of weapon around as if she had used it her entire life, Ruby vanished into a cloud of black petals and reappeared in front of the first group of faunus – _mid swing_.

The entire squad fell apart, literally. They had all be cut in half, and they fell to the ground without enough time to so much as cry out in terror. Ruby planted one of the scythe blades in the ground, the one with the muzzle, and aimed her imposing weapon at the next group, which had taken cover. Pressing the trigger, a round flew out at an incredible velocity, hit the wall the White Fang hid behind, an _exploded_.

Disappearing one more time, the out-of-control Ruby dashed into a large crowd of the terrorists. Swinging her weapon in tight circles, Ruby pressed another button that had appeared on the side of Crescent Rose. ' _I remember what this one does from the prison!_ '

The spikes, one at a time, launched themselves from each end of the weapon. They flew into their targets, and burrowed deep into them. Moving her dual-scythe so quickly none of the faunus knew who was being aimed for next, there was nothing they could do as Ruby mowed them down.

Any who survived her initial barrage of the lethal spikes were promptly cut down where they stood when she began to hack and slash again. Looking up from the devastation she wrought on these soldiers, Ruby stared at the tallest building in sight. Aside from it's size, it has only one distinguishing feature; a large red cross. ' _A hospital… no… the hospital!_ '

Ruby set off in it's direction, a trail of death in her wake. The reaper would be gone from her previous location and then be in the middle of a White Fang fire-team in seconds, tearing them to shreds. By the time nearby soldiers had their guns pointed in the correct direct, the killing machine had already moved on to the next bunch of unfortunate faunus.

Soon enough, the remaining forces began to retreat, falling back in panic as dozens of their friends were slaughtered; and still she did not relent. Vacuan citizens screamed and ran for cover as Ruby tore through the area, terrified at the prospect of being in her way. Eliminating opponent after opponent until there was nobody in sight. Any remaining White Fang patrols had gotten the message that this required more firepower.

All the faunus citizen had fled the area, all of the White Fang retreated, and her friends left in the dust when Ruby had run off. Ruby was alone in the middle of a street, staring up at the words "Vacuo City Hospital". ' _I'm here. Inside this building, Blake is somewhere, just waiting for me._ '

All around her, the only break from the silence came in the form of the wind stirring up clouds of dust and sand. There Ruby stood, gaze fixated on the sign that marked her success in reaching her friends, or at least one of them. "I'm here, Blake. I'm coming for you."

With that, the last of the rage she had pent up was gone. Crescent rose weighed as it should, the steel stock grasped tightly in her hand. Looking at her weapon, Ruby saw it was back to it's normal form. The spikes were gone, it only had it's primary blade, and she was willing to bet it's ammo would no longer possess it's explosive quality. She was glad.

When Ruby used Crescent Rose, her refined style and skill made excellent use of her rare choice of weapon. But when her anger did _that_ , Ruby wasn't in control. Her anger turned her into a mindless beast, her weapon reflected everything that was wrong with her. It was imposing, viscous, rough, and every part of it was meant to kill.

Loud panting drew the huntress's attention; her friends had finally caught up. "How did you guys find me?" She asked.

"Miss Rose, aside from the trail of carnage, we knew you would eventually make your way to the hospital. Now we must hurry, I doubt they will be able to get that same reaction out of you twice, and however unstable your anger fueled side may be, it is considerably more dangerous. When they discover you no longer embody the doom they just saw you bring to their fellows, the White Fang will retaliate with everything at their control. We need to be gone before that happens."

Nodding to signal her comprehension, Ruby led the four into the hospital. This hospital was in considerable better repair than the one in Haven. "They only had one hospital of the caliber needed for large emergencies, it would appear that was their primary focus when protecting the city." Goodwitch stated.

Ozpin hummed in agreement, and led them to the counter, where a faunus woman glared at them. "What are you _humans_ doing here?" Her distaste for their kind clear in her voice.

In response the her venomous tone, Ruby brought out her weapon in it's rifle form and pointed it at the nurse. "I just killed several dozen White Fang soldiers. One more anti-human faunus isn't going to keep me awake at night. I want a copy of your patient directory, and I want it _now_!"

Still keeping up her glare, albeit with a small amount of fear now present in her eyes, the bear faunus quickly began to print out a file. Handing it over to the scythe user, the nurse took a step back and stood out of the way.

Ruby flipped through it until she found the name she was looking for. "Blake Belladonna, room 602. Let's go!

As they climbed the stairs, Goodwitch asked the question that had been driving her crazy. "What happened to your weapon, Ozpin explained what happened to you, but your weapon changed, and that wasn't mecha-shifting. It looked more like it… _grew_."

"When I'm in my red and, as you'll see eventually, pink forms, my weapon is made of aura. The happier or angrier I am, the more and more it varies from the original design. The happier I am, it becomes simpler, and I am more refined and skillful in it's use. The madder I am, the more monstrous it and I become."

Ruby thought back to when she started this journey. "I made a deal with Hunter when he first found me; if he could survive a single strike from me, he could come along. If he had angered me much more beforehand, his semblance – which he used to copy my aura to protect him- would have been useless. He would have tried to protect himself from my aura, _with_ my aura; not very effective."

Ozpin spoke up. "You can imagine this must be one of Miss Rose's more _upset_ moments. For obvious reasons, watching a young girl's mother nearly get murdered could feel rather personal for her." Ruby felt another twinge of anger at his bluntness, but knew that was just how the old professor was.

When they arrived on the sixth floor, Ruby looked at the room to her left; looking the other direction, she saw the numbers descending. "This way!" She dashed off using her semblance, reading numbers as she went. ' _621, 619, 617, 615… 9, 7, 5, 3!_ '

Ruby skidded to a halt, and looked at the even numbered rooms across the hall. "Room 602," she whispered to herself. Her walk across the hallway felt like an eternity, it was like she was moving in slow motion. When she grabbed the handle and pulled it open, she closed her eyes, stepped inside, and opened them.

"Blake…."

There she lay, motionless on the bed. A pillow beneath her head, and her body covered by a white sheet. Her bow was removed, leaving her ears on display. Her team member looked just as she had five years ago, as if she had been frozen in time. Her gentle, calm breaths were the only sound in the room as Ruby stood there.

' _I… I did it! I found Blake!_ ' Ruby knew that Blake was here, she knew the Blake was alive, and she knew that she would make it; but none of that meant a thing because it hadn't truly felt real until this moment. This moment where she stood in the _same room_ as her friend.

The moment of peace was interrupted as the door flew open and Professor Ozpin stood there with the others behind him. "We need to _leave_ , Miss Rose! Collect your teammate and _go_!"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"The White Fang has rallied for another attack, and we need to get to the Bullhead immediately. This means we'll need to cross half the city to reach the exit, then run across a _desert_ until we can get in the air. I don't know if we'll be able to make it if we don't get going now!"

The young huntress turned her gaze out the window and saw what had worried Ozpin. Dozens of bullheads were flying around, most of them dropping soldiers off around the perimeter of the building. One particular ship drew her attention, however. It was pitch black, and had a long, thin nose that led to a wide, flat tail-end. It's two large engines sat in the wings, with it's two tail fins coming up at an angle off of them.

"Actually, I have a better idea on how we get out of here." Ruby said with a smile. "Now, I've got good news and bad news..."

* * *

 **So yeah** **, Ruby killed a lot of faunus. And she also had an even more impractical weapon for a while there. This was the first appearance of Red Ruby in earnest, so tell me what you thought! Please... don't just go without commenting; I'm lonely without you guys!**

 **If you haven't already, please vote on the poll. If you have: I added another choice to it, a comedy (and I also gave better descriptions of each one), so if you want to change any votes, just PM me on which to remove one vote from, and which to add one vote to, and I'll make that change to the final result!**

 **Thanks, Minesniper!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**If you care why I haven't uploaded in three weeks, read this. If you don't, and are content to just read whenever stuff comes out, skip the opening notes.**_

 **So, I've had a rather difficult past three weeks. First my grandmother died, then we had her cremation, and then her funeral. Also, for the past month, I've been sick, and I just took a metric sh*t-load of exams on Friday. I realized how sleep deprived I've been getting when I was overjoyed that on Friday, I only woke up once in the morning, didn't pass out, and didn't hallucinate. I spent the whole morning excited that I managed to get _5_ hours of sleep.**

 **When that's the most sleep in a night I've had for over 4 months (including spring break, and an even longer break courtesy of a snow storm), you know my sleep schedules been really messed up over the past school year.**

 **Anyways, here is chapter 12. It's been half complete for the past two weeks, but finishing it was difficult. I kept getting distracted by new ideas for this story and others, and got overloaded with schoolwork. Suffice to say, I've been busy, but I'm back now! Unfortunately with the end of the year approaching quickly, and all the _wonderful_ exams that come with it, I may have my hands full again soon enough.**

 **I truly want to keep to my 'upload-a-week' schedule, but I can't guarantee it will be the case in the near future. What I _can_ tell you is that June will be even worse (trust me, it's possible), and I will be in places with _no_ internet connection at all, or just won't be able to write. Hopefully I can do a lot more in July and August, but aside from that, we'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Enjoy this, hopefully I can keep uploads coming more regularly.**

* * *

(Chapter 12)

"The White Fang sends in several teams created for the sole purpose of eliminating huntsmen, and you want to take their ship?" Marvin asked incredulously.

"It's faster, larger, better armored and equipped, and is more fuel efficient than any bullhead we will find. It can get us all the way to Vale, further if we managed to fill it up with dust before we leave! Besides, so long as that thing's in the air, we can't fly out of here with anything else; we'll be shot down instantly."

The two of them were arguing over the AM-23 Nevermore that Ruby had spotted moments ago. A plane used for special operations by the kingdoms prior to their fall. Only 30 were ever created, and they were guarded with extreme care.

Once the kingdoms had been brought to their knees by the White Fang, however, the terrorist group found themselves with a handful of new toys; this ship being one of them. The remaining models were known to serve as the transports of White Fang Kill Squads, moving them from place to place in order to suppress huntsmen whenever they may pop up.

And Ruby wanted it.

"That thing will let us get to Vale in an hour or two, _all the way around the world in just hours_ ; we can't pass this up. Besides, we need to get Blake to Beacon as soon as possible, using our Bullhead would take much longer." Ruby had a point. The less time between the hospital and the vault under Beacon, the better.

Marvin however, brought forward a rather pressing issue. "Okay, all that aside, how do we get _her_ out of here?" he said gesturing to the comatose faunus, "I don't think we can just carry her out through all of those White Fang, especially with Kill Squads."

Ruby looked around at those present, then pointed at her former headmaster. "You, stay here with Blake. You're strong enough to hold them off if they even realize you're here, so you keep her safe until we get over here with that Nevermore."

Shifting his grip on the cane he had at all times, Professor Ozpin nodded his head once, and stood ready by the faunus.

Ruby walked over to the window, looking out over the forces beginning to surround the hospital. "So," Ruby said with a devious grin, "does everyone have a landing strategy?"

* * *

"Are all the exits covered?" A White Fang captain asked his subordinate. They had located a group of huntsmen here in Vacuo, and now had the four of them trapped in a hospital inside the city.

"Yes sir, we have several fire teams holding position outside each exit from the building. Should I give the order to move in?" He responded.

Just then, the captain crumpled to the ground as two black and red combat boots made contact with his head at a high velocity. Now standing in his place was a woman with dark red hair, a black cloak, and the most terrifying weapon the White Fang soldier had ever seen.

"I'll, uh… I'll take that as a 'no'. I think I should… you know… _go…_ now." He fumbled over his world as cold silver eyes studied him as if they'd noticed a particularly bothersome insect.

As he slowly backed up, he bumped into someone. ' _Oh come on!_ ' He cried internally. The solder froze in place, not taking his eyes off the huntress, and _refusing_ to see who he had walked into.

The red-head seemed to get bored, and turned away from him. She pressed the shaft of her scythe against her back, and held it with both arms stretched out. The scythe's head was pointed in his direction, and the soldier took a moment to inspect the curious design. There was a hole at it's top whose purpose he could not decipher for the life of him.

 _Bang._

* * *

Ruby rocketed forwards as she fired Crescent Rose into the poor faunus who had been quivering in fear from her entrance. ' _I've still got it!_ '

Marvin had shuffled out of the way to avoid her round penetrating the man and hitting him, while Goodwitch observed the situation with a slight amount of amusement. They were now following her as she moved towards the Nevermore's landing site.

There were groups of White Fang along her route, but she cast them aside without a thought, she just went through the motions and continued onward. They weren't even worth a second's thought.

As she sprinted down the street, Ruby was scanning ahead of her; everything was clear, and yet, she felt like she was being watched.

Suddenly, Ruby's instincts kicked in, and she screeched to a halt. The red head-nearly ran straight into an enemy. The difficult to spot soldier blended in _perfectly_ with their surroundings, and had only been noticed when they shifted subtly to point their sword directly at the oncoming huntress.

Seeing that Ruby had noticed them, the White Fang specialist reverted to his normal appearance. The faunus had been using their semblance to look exactly like the world around them, more or less becoming invisible. Had they not moved, the reaper would have collided with them.

The moment he was revealed, three more soldiers leaped toward Ruby from the building next to them. The first wielded battle axe, the second had two daggers, and the third carried a pike. ' _Oh my God. It's like CRDL all over again._ '

"Ah, a huntress." The formerly camouflaged soldier said. "It's been a while since we've had a challenge like this. The one who kills her is free from tomorrow's training routine!"

' _Well, they're confident, let's see if we can change that._ ' Ruby casually spun her scythe with one hand, the other resting on her hip. "You know, you remind me of a team I knew when I was a student." At this point, she vanished in a cloud of petals, reappearing directly behind the one with the pike. " _They weren't very good either_."

In surprise, the closest member of the Kill Squad swung his weapon in an arc to catch Ruby with it. Instead, it passed through where she once stood, and collided with the leaders chest-plate. "Alright. Whoever kills this human also gets free drinks, and _Cobalt_ gets to pay for 'em!" The pike wielder glared at Ruby when he heard this.

All four White Fang charged at her, the leader keeping her occupied with a flurry of strikes from his sword. 'Cobalt', as the leader had called him, tried to pole-vault over Ruby with his weapon, but she knocked it out from under him.

As he crashed to the ground, the third member hefted his axe up, jumped over the recovering faunus, and brought it down on Ruby's scythe. Crescent Rose burdened the blow remarkably well, but Ruby was still pushed back by the force. As she did her best to defend against the axe and sword that kept being thrust at her, she idly remembered there should be four combatants.

She received a somewhat more urgent reminder when said soldier crashed into her side, throwing her to the ground. Using her semblance, Ruby got to her feet and separated herself from the Kill Squad. Crescent Rose had been flung from her unsuspecting grasp, and was currently pinned under the food of the pike user.

"Crimson, help me keep this away from her!" The axe user nodded and moved to support his partner, while the final two faced an unarmed Ruby Rose. "Copper, let's get her!" the green-haired dagger fighter cheered.

The leader and his ally each moved to flank Ruby, then attacked from two sides. Ruby ducked under Copper's swing and rolled to avoid a wicked slash by the final soldier. Ruby tried to grab Crescent Rose, but she underestimated how much force Cobalt was using to pin it down. While off balance from her failed attempt to retrieve her weapon, Crimson kicked her in the face, sending her sprawling. Once again, Ruby rose as quickly as she could, but the pressure was back on when the sword and dagger users set upon her again.

Sprinting back to her weapon -trailing rose petals- with a plan, Ruby grabbed a cross clip from the pouch on her side. Ducking under a powerful pike swing, Ruby ejected her rifle's clip, inserted the new one, and sprinted away.

While they didn't know why she did it, all that mattered to the two keeping it in place was that she still didn't have it back.

Using the same maneuver once more, Ruby chambered the round, and fired. The recoil sent Crescent Rose flying out from under Cobalt's foot, and skittering down the street. ' _That's going to leave some scratches_!' Ruby thought with a cringe. Grabbing her weapon, the tired huntress saw the four advancing on her.

It was then that the odds were evened. To their right, Marvin and Goodwitch finally caught up, and joined the fray. Down a street to their left four more soldiers, another Kill Squad, appeared. "'Bout time you got here, Lima!" Copper yelled.

"Oh shut it! Amethyst, help Copper and Jade. Myrtle, you and Gray keep the boy busy!" The team leader for Kill Squad Lima then rushed over to Crimson and Cobalt to subdue Glynda.

Kill Squads were one of the few things that could threaten hunters in this age. No single White Fang soldier ever had been or ever would be a match for a true, fully-fledged hunter. Their best fighters could compare to students at best, but a graduated huntsman was above their level of expertise.

However, working in teams of four, these elite soldiers became a problem. Their team-work, numbers, and superior fire-power when put together made them a challenge to defeat. One or two Kill Squads could rival almost any hunter in power.

However, with more hunters than squads, they could not apply enough pressure to any one foe.

Ruby was creating and revising plans of attack, her mind working overtime to keep up with her enemies, and find a way to defeat them. Marvin, while the least experienced, was still a force to be reckoned with. He currently had the advantage of only facing two members of the White Fang.

If anyone was going to be able to provide the others support soon, it was him. ' _Then again, if he would just grow a pair, and use his gift outside of emergencies, then this could already be over_ '. Ruby decided to give him the push he needed.

"Roll, use your semblance damn it! At least on their weapons; _kind of_ want to wrap this up sometime soon!" She yelled at him.

Shooting a glare back in her direction, Marvin relented and waved his hand. Myrtle's katana and Gray's large war-hammer evaporated into sand. When he saw his handiwork, Marvin visibly cringed. Luckily for him, his two opponents were too distracted by their weapons vanishing to capitalize on his moment of weakness.

Recovering from his involuntary flinch at the memories associated with his power, Marvin charged back at them with his matching blades. He hit the man with both weapons before slashing at his partner. While the woman's reactions were remarkably better, and she flipped out of harm's way, 'Gray' was knocked to the ground for a moment.

While he pressed the advantage, Goodwitch was holding her own against her three annoyances. Placing defensive glyphs in a circle around her, Glynda left the space above her unprotected. Cobalt, not being the smartest of these soldiers, jumped over her wall to attack from above.

He immediately regretted failing to notice Glynda's trap as he dove straight towards the woman who had pointed her riding crop in the only direction she could be attacked. A burst of purple light enveloped his vision as he was blasted out of the sky.

Crimson's axe head separated and flames shot forth. The fire spread out upon impacting the glyphs, it's tips licking around the defense's sides and singing some of the combat instructor's hair. She fired small projectiles from her weapon that curved to impact against the faunus who had burned her.

Ruby's own foes were posing a threat to her. Fighting off these three was proving to be harder than anticipated. Jade's knives were a force to be reckoned with in close quarters, while Amethyst's bo staff was well suited for keeping Ruby at bay. Copper used his sword expertly, and proved to be capable of fighting well at any range.

To say the huntress was hard-pressed to keep up with them would be an accurate statement. Ruby came out of each engagement with another scratch or two, and each time she seemed to be wearing down one of them, the others would push her back and give their ally time to recuperate.

A cry of pain drew all 10 other combatant's attention.

Crimson had been caught with particularly strong beam of Glynda's purple light, and now had a _hole_ punched through his side. He clutched at it for a moment, before he collapsed on the ground. During this, Marvin managed to catch Gray unawares, and ran him through with both blades.

The remaining six Kill Squad members formed up into pairs, but they knew the battle wouldn't be in their favor. Copper and Cobalt attacked Ruby, Amethyst and Jade tried to close the distance between themselves and Beacon's former professor; finally Myrtle and her team leader, Azure, rushed towards Marvin.

The first duo to falter was Copper and Cobalt. A bad move by Cobalt left him exposed to Crescent Rose's blade. Before his corpse even hit the ground, Ruby was already turning her focus on to Copper. While undoubtedly skilled, none of the White Fang were capable of walking away from a duel with a huntress, and they both knew it.

It was then that Goodwitch blasted the ground beneath her enemies' feet. With a wave of her weapon, the fragments of asphalt and rock began to fly around as if they were carried in the winds of a tornado. Unable to block or dodge them for long, Jade and Amethyst were brought down.

As Ruby dealt the final blow to Copper, Marvin was firing a bullet into Myrtle's stomach. When the final soldier made a desperate attempt to avenge her comrades' deaths, she suffered a blow to the head courtesy of Ruby's weapon, and slipped into unconsciousness.

"We need to go, _now_. I don't know if any others are in the area, but I don't want to find out." When she said this, she brought her scythe back, and the slammed the blade into the defenseless faunus's chest.

Seeing this murder of an unconscious opponent, Glynda gasped. "Why did you do that!?" She yelled in horror, "killing in self-defense is one thing, Ms. Rose. Mauling a harmless foe is an entirely different matter!"

The black-cloaked girl fixed her with a cold stare, and left her with, "if you let your enemy go out here, if you show one of these terrorists mercy just because you want to keep to your moral code, I guarantee you someone will pay the price. That's the first thing you need to learn, let them go, and they'll come back with friends."

As they made their way to the aircraft Ruby desired, the huntress realized that -despite how much she wished otherwise- Ruby was right.

* * *

After dispatching the faunus guarding the AM-23 Nevermore, the three of them all piled in. Goodwitch and Ruby went into the cockpit, taking the pilot and copilot seats respectively. Marvin strapped himself in, and they took off. The ship ascended quickly, the shot forward in the direction of the hospital.

In under a minute the Nevermore hovered outside of the building, coming around to the room which contained Ozpin and Blake. Green energy could be seen lighting up the interior of the building as the old man repulsed wave after wave of attacks by the faunus extremists. When he spotted the ship hovering outside, a green bubble formed in his hand which he then pressed against the wall.

The wall exploded outward, brick and glass sent careening to the ground below. A series of glyphs courtesy of Goodwitch allowed Professor Ozpin to make his way through the hatch before closing it behind him.

Ruby rushed into the back and helped the headmaster fasten the unconscious girl's safety belts. She sat alongside the girl, while Ozpin took her place next to Glynda. As they flew off in the direction of Ruby's home city, the huntress smiled and kept her eyes on Blake.

"See you soon Blake."

* * *

 **So, yes, this is my answer to huntsmen. Kill Squads are going to function as the primary threat they face, although not necessarily the biggest one. Now that was two, and one could have faced Ruby alone. Obviously they're better in larger groups, so don't worry, they won't be so easily defeated in future, and may or may not (spoiler alert) be the death of an unspecified number of your favorite characters. I've had some guesses as to who will show up and/or die; I'd be interested to hear some of yours.**

 **So yes, next chapter we get the return of our first team mate, and then it's time to get Yang!**

 **See you next time,**

 **Minesniper**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello there beautiful people! This isn't late (unless I forget to upload on time)!**

 **So life's been busy but I managed to get this out in time. Fair warning: I am a part of a group of people who are writing a collab fanfic (it's going to be a cluster-f*ck, but that's what happens when you put this many sick bastards together on a creative project), so that may take up time I'd normally write my stories. I'll have to write chapters in time for them to be used in that fanfic, and I can't be late with them.**

 **Anyways, I'll let you all know when we actually start publishing chapters and such so you can check it out. Let me just say this; even I think it's really f*cking weird, and I'm a part of its creation!**

 **Anyways, here we go! The moment you've all been waiting for: The beginning of Team RWBY's return!**

* * *

(Chapter 13)

The flight to Vale was smooth. The Nevermore moved incredibly quickly, Ruby could feel the pull towards the back of the plane, but there was almost no turbulence. The few bumps they experienced caused Ruby to wrap her arms protectively around the unconscious faunus, as if to protect her in case of a crash.

Blake's head was resting on her former leader's shoulder currently. She looked so peaceful, not having a care in the world; no fear of the White Fang, no mission to recover her very _soul_ and save the world. She had no family to protect or world to reclaim for humanity and faunus to live _together_ in.

Ruby almost hated to wake her.

But ignorance is not bliss, it is oblivion; humanity learned this the hard way. Their ignorance of the faunus' plight, their ignorance of how much danger they truly were in, their ignorance of their own mortality. Humanity thought it was safe behind its walls, but when they angered those within them, the walls only served to prevent any hope of escape.

Blake's pleasant dream would one day have to come to an end, one way or another. Ruby only hoped she was making the right decision. ' _If I don't wake any of them up, the White Fang have no reason to harm them. By bringing them back, I put a target on each of their backs; if they get hurt, it will be all my fault._ '

Across from them, Marvin was strapped in to his seat. He was staring down at his feet, he was still quiet from the battle they had just fought. Ruby wanted to tell him to quit moping around and get used to using his semblance more, but she decided against it. ' _I suppose that probably wouldn't make him feel better any time sooner, and then I'll have to deal with him moping around all day._ '

Goodwitch and Ozpin were seated in the pilot's area, the woman talking about her family and what she's done since leaving, the old man just listening and keeping up a conversation. The combat professor quickly turned toward the three passengers in the back and announced they were 10 minutes out from Beacon.

The huntress peered out of her window, stifling a gasp at what she saw. Vale itself was a sight for sore eyes. The outer districts of the city had seen far better days, but the majority of it was intact. It appeared that being the wealthiest of the four, Vale had the resources to rebuild faster than the others. Vacuo had always been a dump, and with the beating that Mistral had taken as well as no longer being capable of the trade that once supported its flourishing economy, it hadn't recovered yet either.

Ruby had no idea what Atlas looked like, but she knew that it would have lasted the longest, and that the havoc wrought upon the city would be catastrophic. She felt a twinge of pity for the faunus who had been facing the Atlesian winters with their homes in shambles. Then she remembered that they most likely just moved into the homes of the dead or enslaved humans. Her sympathy evaporated.

The jet slows down, and looking out her window, Ruby can see that they are approaching Beacon's courtyard. The landing pads the school had used when she was a student lay half-submerged at the bottom of the waterfall they once presided over.

With a bump, the Nevermore completed it's landing and Glynda turned it off. Opening the door, Ruby's nostrils were filled with the smell of flowers and clean air. Beacon had fallen, but nature was in the process of reclaiming the land. Vines stretched across walls and buildings, while shrubs, tall grass, and flowers sprouted up around the grounds that students had walked over not even five years ago.

Ruby and Marvin helped carry Blake's limp form towards the center of campus; the former location of the CCT Tower. In its place was a spire that ended abruptly, rubble and debris from the destroyed office at its peak littering the surrounding area. Looking up, the redhead thought she saw movement. At the top of the tower, behind a broken window, the shadows had shifted and an unidentifiable form retreated from her sight.

Quickly, Ruby set down her comatose friend and grabbed her weapon. "I saw something, and I'm not going to take any chances. Keep moving towards the Tower, I'm going to find out who's watching us." She explained.

Just as suddenly as she had changed her demeanor, Ruby disappeared leaving only petals in her wake. Launching herself up onto the wall with a round from her weapon, the huntress then dug the blade of Crescent Rose into the wall to keep steady.

Using a burst of speed, the scythe wielder ran up the wall until she reached a window. She quickly climbed through it and made her way to the top floor where she's spotted the movement. Ruby ran through the door she'd been looking for and came upon the room her unknown observer had been in. While there wasn't anything particularly interesting, the bed, food scattered around, and multitude of activities strewn across the floor.

There were books, hand-drawn pictures, a deck of cards, knives and sharpeners, what even looked like an attempt at a work of writing sitting on a desk. A pair of simple, black binoculars sat on the windowsill that overlooked Vale, Beacon's entrance, and her friends.

What the room _lacked_ , was an occupant. Though Ruby would check each room, search every nook and cranny she could, the 20 year old girl couldn't find the mysterious figure who was watching them.

Despite how much she wanted to ensure that they weren't a potential threat, or eliminate them if they were, Ruby cut her search short. She jumped out of the window, and dug the tip of Crescent Rose into the side of the tower and slid down toward solid ground.

"Was it entirely necessary to destroy _more_ of my tower, Miss Rose?"

"Not like _that's_ going to be the thing that keeps you from using it."

They entered the tower through the main doors, the inside wasn't very different from how Ruby remembered it. Now, however, all the panels were smashed and the screens were shattered. Oddly enough though, the building power was still on. The lights were, excluding the damaged ones, working and the 'call elevator' button worked too.

When the doors creaked open, the four of them brought Blake in and crowded together to allow the doors to shut. Ozpin approached the buttons and pressed his finger against a piece of glass. A green light illuminated from behind the glass, then a small metal square slid out of the way to reveal a hidden button.

The elevator shuddered to life and began to descend down the shaft that extended far lower than an average user believed it would. The metal box lowered itself to the lowest level, and the doors slid open with a quiet chime.

The hallway that Ruby stared down was large and empty. Pristine linoleum floors reflected the pale green light that emanated from the metal braziers connected to the walls. Dozens of columns extended up into the inky blackness, presumably to a ceiling beyond the veil cast by the shadows.

A large design of what appeared to be the face of a clock decorated an intersection of tunnels. Continuing straight forward, not even casting a glance down any of the side halls, Ozpin walked as if in a trance directly ahead. At the end of the hall was an odd machine.

Bundles of wires extended from one pod and terminal, up into the darkness, then back down into another. One of the pods stood upright, a lightly dressed woman lay motionless in the one on the left.

"Amber… I'm so sorry..." Ozpin said, gripping his cane tightly. "Many maidens have died in battle, defending their power and Remnant as a whole. But to die, alone and in a metal box, just because your life support failed, even after everything else you survived… it is almost insulting."

Glynda came over to the man in green and placed a hand on his arm. "We must remove her from the pod. Once we have restored Miss Rose's aura, and woken Miss Belladonna, we _will_ see to giving her a proper burial."

The old man nodded gravely and approached the terminal by 'Pod 001'. After tapping a series of keys, the machine that proved to be eerily reminiscent of a metal casket retracted, and the door swung upwards.

Ever so gently, the headmaster removed the body from its coffin and placed her on the ground, laying on her back with her hands placed on her stomach. After a moment to collect himself, Ozpin gestured to the second pod.

"Ruby, if you would hand me the solid fragments I gave you." Silently, the red-haired huntress stepped into the machine and laid back. When the professor approached her pod, she held out the glowing, pink shards. He carefully held the pieces of Ruby's pink soul, a few keystrokes later and she was sealed inside.

"I'm going to attempt a transfer using these pieces. We've never transferred an aura out of a person, let alone a situation in which the target has two souls. There's no guarantee this will work, and there is a risk that it will have unforeseen consequences."

"Just do it. I'll need that soul, and even if it doesn't work, what's the alternative for Blake? Spending eternity in a coma? If this doesn't do what it's supposed to, we were doomed from the beginning." Ruby replied.

Ozpin nodded and moved to the other container. When he placed the pink crystals in the first pod, he shut it too. Finally, the headmaster approached the central console and began the process.

Pink light spiraled up the first set of wires, then down the second into Ruby's pod. The girl was surrounded by the pink glow that was her aura, then she felt the pain.

It was horrific, crippling pain. Even the woman who had suffered so much in her life could not restrain herself from crying out from the agony she felt. It was as if the infernal machine was trying to _push_ the aura into her directly through her skin. The closest Ruby could equate it to would be having every point on her body being pressed against needles that were constantly moving further into her skin.

She writhed in the pod, slamming her hands against the door, but to no avail. She heard voices outside the pod, Marvin was yelling at Ozpin while he and Glynda tried to keep him back. Just when she thought she was going to black out from the pain, Ruby's suffering ended.

The last of the aura entered her body, the tubes lost their unnatural glow, and her aura began to rapidly numb the pain. All at once, the feeling dissipated and Ruby felt _wonderful_. The huntress felt amazing, a familiar warmth traveled all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. Ruby felt joy, something she hadn't experienced in half a decade.

The door flipped open and the scythe user clambered out, a smile on her face. "It worked, guys! It worked!" She exclaimed happily. "Are we ready to wake Blake up?"

Her former headmaster was hesitant to say the least. "Miss Rose, I will spend as much time as I can to calibrate the machine correctly, but even so, there are risks. I have only just managed to return _a fraction_ of your soul to you without from an isolated area. Now I must do it again with a much larger portion, all without affecting Miss Belladonna's aura."

"I trust you, Ozpin, you can do this." Ruby placed her faith in the graying old man, not a doubt in her mind about his ability to save her friend. Professor Ozpin himself was less confident, but made up for it with his determination to add Blake Belladonna to the heart-wrenchingly short list of students whose lives he had saved.

The wizard's brown eyes were cold and calculating, all of his focus devoted to the task at hand. A slight miscalculation, a lapse in judgment, a single error; all it took was one mistake, and the consequences could range from unfortunate to life-threatening.

Ruby carefully picked up her team mate and carried her to the first pod. Slowly laying the faunus down, the reaper cast one final look at the black-haired girl before shutting the door. Almost giddy with excitement, Ruby climbed into her pod for the second time.

As the young woman waited for Ozpin to initiate the transfer, she had a thought. ' _I already knew I was going to have t o go through the process again; but if it's that bad for it to be put in to me, what will Blake feel when it gets ripped out!?_ '

Her answer came in the form of screaming somehow more pitiful than the ones she let loose minutes before. Knowing what was coming, Ruby braced herself, but that didn't help much. Soon enough, Blake's cries of pain were drowned out by her own; and on a level, Ruby was thankful for that. The procedure seemed to go on slightly longer than last time, and when she felt the torture end, Ruby burst forth from the pod.

Feeling empowered by the transfer, she rushed to Blake's pod and flung it open. Inside a black-haired girl lay in torment from what she had experienced. Ruby wrapped her arms around her friend, using her aura to help dull the pain.

"Blake! Blake, it's me, Ruby! It's over now, no more pain, you're safe now! Can you speak, are you okay?"

The cat faunus looked up at her team leader with amber eyes. "Ru.. Ruby? Where are we, what happened? Where are the others?" Looking behind Ruby, Blake saw Goodwitch, Ozpin, and the boy who escaped the compound when they did. She launched into another series of questions, but Ruby was deaf to them.

Ruby just wrapped her friend in an even tighter hug. "God, Blake, you're back! You're actually back!" Ruby choked on her words, she felt happiness beyond measure. Five years of believing the three people most important to her in the whole world were dead and complete surrender to a solitary life of regret and misery were finally over.

Blake was back, and Yang was somewhere in the city, no more than ten miles away from where Ruby was at that very moment. ' _Weiss, Weiss is somewhere up in Atlas. The second I get my sister, we're coming to find here._ '

Ruby finally gave in to the urge to cry in joy. Tears streaked down her face, the gentle sobbing shocking Blake out of her inquisition and into returning Ruby's hug. "What? Ruby, what is it, are you okay?"

The red-haired huntress sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. "I am now. I'm getting my family back together, and when I do, I'm not letting any of you go ever again!"

* * *

' _That infernal woman is here again! How the Hell do I get rid of her!?_ '

"Yes, _Lady Salem_?" He hated that title. He absolutely _detested_ how she insisted he refer to her. He spat the word out in a venomous tone, but it did not phase the Grimm-like woman who stood before him.

"I comes to my attention you have lost control of one of your more… _important_ … assets. Care to explain?"

"Well, it turns out that their target was Blake Belladonna. She was a-" His voice ceased to fill the air, unable to speak or even _breathe_. Those haunting, glowing. red eyes turned their feared gaze upon him and seemed to bore straight into his very soul.

"I told you, your search for _immortality_ , or whatever it is you fools sought to learn from those girls, is _futile_. Eventually, each one of you will die, and they were no different! You have allowed an enemy to reclaim an ally of theirs, one of the four who can truly threaten you."

Salem released the invisible hold on his throat and he coughed as he tried to take in the life-giving oxygen he had been denied. "Team RWBY was the perfect weapon when unified, they would have been unstoppable given more time and support. Even without officially completing a single year at Beacon Academy, they lasted _days_ against my onslaught of Grimm. Even when they fell to my Grimm, _they just would not die!_ "

The rage in her eyes was the stuff of nightmares. "Their vastly different specialties and skills let them fare well against any foe. The vast differences in their beliefs and outlooks on life make them suited for seeing a situation from every angle. They're led by an excellent strategist, and have grown close enough to become truly _incorruptible_. They were much more powerful than I ever anticipated, their actions threw the plan I had constructed for _centuries_ to the wind, and now they're coming back!"

"You _will not_ allow them to reunite, or I will _personally_ see to it that you regret it with every fiber of your being before I allow you to die!"

Lupen had only been truly scared four or five times in his life. The first being the only memory he had of his parents: staring at them while hiding under the furniture in his family's home as they were executed by a group of faunus hunters, these people killed his family _just because they could_. This… _thing_ … called Salem had already contributed two of these times.

Now, and their first encounter. He recalled the doors sliding open to reveal her form as tendrils of dark, dark red energy came off her. The tentacles of pure energy had whipped around the room flinging aside any who stood in her path to the terrified general.

As it turned out, the humans who had forced the White Fang into an alliance had been _her_ pawns. When he saw a chance to be rid of them and still claim victory over the kingdoms, he had taken it. Now she was here to make him pay for further disrupting her plot.

In the end, he had managed to strike a deal, they would find and eliminate certain people who had opposed her, and in return, she would not butcher every last one of them. Really, a rather good deal for him.

"How do I make sure they can't get back together, Sa- _Lady_ Salem?" He asked.

The abomination that stood before him smiled devilishly. "You only know where one of them is, and there's only one way to make sure they cannot be whole again. I know you will _cling_ to her, try desperately to keep a hold of your precious research subject; but when the time comes and you cannot ensure her security, I hope you remember what is on the line for you."

With that, the woman vanished into the shadows, and though he couldn't _see_ her, Lupen was able to _feel_ her dark presence leave the room.

Quivering slightly in fear, he opened a transmission. " I want all non-essential personnel on the Vale/Vacuo continent guarding Yang Xiao Long, _now_! And someone get me Major Taurus, I have some some bad news for him."

* * *

 **So... Salem's rather rude, isn't she?**

 **Anyways, yay! Blake's back, Ruby can feel positive emotions again, and they're off to get Yang next; what could possibly go wrong!**

 **You may now post your comment about how I've doomed them all, despite the fact that being author means I can control what happens no matter what I say. I'm genuinely surprised at some of the guesses I've gotten for characters that are going to die, some of which I haven't even made my mind up about yet.**

 **So... RWBY Chibi's cute, and I do like Ruby b*tch-slapping Blake with her book, so I'll give it a positive review!**

 **See you next time,**

 **Minesweeper or Blindsniper or whoever the Hell writes this crap**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here it is, sorry for not uploading in over a month. If you read my other story, you know that I was really busy for several weeks, then away from my computer up until recently. Don't worry though, I plan to upload as soon as I finish chapters now, as opposed to weekly, so that I can pump them out over the summer.**

 _ **PLUG TIME:**_ **So I'm on a discord server where we talk about RWBY, games, complain about things, and have a good time in general. We mostly focus on RWBY fanfiction though, and it's a great place to meet other writers, and to find people to beta-read your chapters if you need it. It's really fun and we're always looking for new members, so just paste this in your browser and remove the spaces:**

 **discordapp channels / 158815067389952000 / 158815067389952000**

 **Anyways, here we go, chapter 14. We have the return of another member of the show's cast, and we have some nice moments in there too. Oh, and probably a few bad jokes.**

* * *

(Chapter 14)

"He really did it… I just can't believe he really did it…."

After Ruby's tearful reunion with her teammate, she had spent the past few hours explaining their situation. What happened to Blake, where Ruby had been all that time, what had changed since the battle at Haven. Suffice to say, it was a lot for her to process, but the White Fang's brutal takeover of the world and their slaughtering of humanity was the hardest for her to accept.

"How? How could they do this!?" Blake yelled, punching a wall in anger.

"Do you mean how they got the materials and members to actually fight a war, or are you asking how they as people felt they had the right to wipe out humanity?" Ruby received a short glare. "Right, well, when I thought you three had died… I might have… sort of… I wiped out almost all the world's Grimm to the point they pose little to no threat anymore."

Blake stared at her former leader slack-jawed. "You killed all of them? _Yourself!?_ " Ruby rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at the floor. "Well… not exactly… I killed _most_ of them, but there are still some hiding, and the sea Grimm are very much alive."

Blake slowly shook her head in awe. "Ruby Rose, you amaze me…. So, who else is with us?"

"Well, we've got Ozpin and Goodwitch. Roll's here too, that's the kid you saw me with at the prison, he's Ozpin's nephew. There's some guy named Hunter who you have to thank for this, without him I'd never have left my cottage, but he's like Jaune 2.0. He can handle himself… usually… but he's got a long way to go. Oh and Scruff!"

"And what about the rest of our team?"

Ruby sighed. "You're the first one we got. Yang's somewhere here in Vale, oh we're under Beacon right now… you know I'll just explain that later. As for Weiss… we don't know. It sounds like the White Fang don't know where she is either, but that's going to make finding her much harder."

Blake was silent for a moment, knowing how hard it must be for Ruby to know that both her sister and girlfriend were out there, but not being able to see them yet. "Why?" She asked.

Ruby cocked her head in confusion. "Why did you come for me first? Yang's your sister, Weiss is your girlfriend, in comparison I'm _just_ a friend." The scythe user took a deep breath. "You were the closest, easiest to extract, and have knowledge of the White Fang's inner workings and can blend in with the people out there. Getting Yang first wasn't such a good idea because that meant an extra trip out to get you, and Weiss would take longer to find."

Blake didn't know what to expect, but it hadn't been this. She realized, deep down, these were valid reasons and she understood why she was chosen, but it was still upsetting to know that they were the _only_ reasons she was picked up first.

"That's it? You got me because it was _convenient_? Because I would be the best tool for getting everyone else back, that's all you have to say!?" Ruby averted her eyes, a hurt expression on her face.

"Blake… I'm… I'm not okay. The reason you're alive, any of you, it's because you had a second aura; mine. When I saw you all about to die, my pink soul- the one that contained joy, love, everything good about life- was shattered and went into the people I cared about. Everything I did, every choice I made, it was all done without any happiness, any compassion, any emotion." Blake was shocked at this, the impact only being increased when she remembered Ruby had lived like that for half a decade.

"Ruby... I-"

"No!" The younger woman yelled, "you have a right to be angry! I'm not right inside. Even with the fragments from you, Ozpin, and Roll combined, I still know I'm not whole anymore! I made my decision based on what I had to gain. Honestly, if saving you three hadn't provided the promise of gaining my other soul back… I don't know if I would have come for you…." Blake put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

Ruby sniffed. "Do you want to know what the worst part is? Now that I'm actually getting all those feelings back, I'm looking at all my choices for the last five years- I was a monster. I _murdered_ people, Blake! Murdered people, just so I could be left alone to sit in a shack in the middle of nowhere! They had families, friends, homes; and I just killed them without a second thought!" The faunus was shocked at Ruby's sudden turnaround. She went from angry at the girl for being so heartless, to pitying her for the same reason. "For the first time in five years I'm feeling regret, and I feel it for every second of every day I lived alone out there!"

"It's okay, Ruby, really. I know what you feel like." Silver met amber as the black-cloaked huntress looked up at her old friend. "When I left the White Fang and met you guys, I started to realize for the first time just how abominable some of the things I did in the White Fang were. I saw that humans were just as capable of being good as faunus were of being evil. I realized that each target I'd been assigned, each crime I'd committed, was a blow dealt to the innocent and guilty alike. I was disgusted, not only for what I did, but that I hadn't thought anything was wrong about it for so long!"

She was wrapped in an embrace before the red-haired girl backed up and looked at her. "Promise me you won't let me be like that again, Blake. I can tell that I'm still messed up, promise me you will stop me from making more decisions like that."

Blake nodded solemnly. "I promise." The faunus looked around the dark vault. "By the way, where is everyone?"

"They're at the surface, burying the fall maiden." Blake looked confusedly at her friend.

"Fall maiden? What, like the fairy tale?"

Ruby massaged her temples. "Oh boy, we've got a _lot_ to talk about."

* * *

When the rest of Ruby's companions returned to their underground bunker, they found the fast huntress placing her weapon in the holster on her back. Raising her hood, Ruby turned and made her way past them to the elevator.

"Where do you think you're going?" Goodwitch asked the girl. Ruby stopped her walking, and turned to face the ex-teacher.

"I'm going into Vale to do some scouting and find Yang. The more people who go, the greater chance we have of being detected. Even if I'm found, I have the best shot of getting back her without them being able to keep up out of any of us." Ruby had a point. Going alone was more discreet, it was safer for her to go in case she's seen, and it's not like she was going to free Yang alone. It would be her job to locate the blonde, after that, they'd get her _together_.

"Ozpin, I think Blake's got a lot of questions right now, and she'll need a weapon. I trust you can take care of this while I'm out." Ruby said over her shoulder as she entered the elevator. The doors shut behind her, and Ruby began her ascent to the surface; it was time to find her sister.

As she exited the compartment and set foot in the ground floor of the CCT, the huntress had the distinct feeling she was being watched. Scanning her surroundings yielded nothing, but she had learned to trust her instincts. She began making her way to the city overlooked by the decrepit academy, keeping her guard up the whole time.

The quick pattering of feet on the linoleum floors of the academy reached her ears, but still Ruby saw nobody. It was likely the same mysterious character that she'd spotted upon their arrival; but who they were and why they were watching her group was still unknown.

Still, nothing of note had come from their presence yet, so the reaper shrugged it off and started making her way down to her home city. She had bigger issues to deal with right now.

* * *

Ruby stepped into the ruined fringes of her old city. She was in the residential district, ruined homes lining the streets, the cliff Beacon was seated upon towering over the entire area. As she came closer and closer to the city's center, the neighborhoods began to look nicer. The buildings were less damaged, the street was in better repair, and there were several people walking about in the late afternoon.

Vale was a big city, by Remnant's standards, and it had around ten hospitals within its walls; so finding Yang was going to be a challenge. Using a small bridge, Ruby crossed the river that cut the city into thirds and entered the commercial district.

Diving into back-alleys whenever she saw a White Fang patrol, the huntress was making good time through the city streets. Soon enough, she came upon Vale General Hospital. Going inside wasn't an option, at least not until she got some backup, but from the look of things the hospital was no longer being used. The door was ajar, the lights were off, and nobody was going in or out. The parking lot was empty save for a few cars that had clearly been scavenged for parts.

Trying to remember where some of the others were, Ruby followed the river towards the coast. Right as she reached the edge between the commercial and industrial districts, the scythe user came upon Mountain Glenn Memorial Hospital.

This one was open, but there was still doubt as to whether Yang was in there. The only White Fang in sight was a squad strolling down the street, nothing impressive. ' _It's just too easy if she's unguarded, isn't it? God forbid something go right for once!_ '

Still, being the only operational she's come across so far, Ruby had to check it off as a 'maybe' in her mind. Night had fallen, and Ruby decided she would check one last location before returning to the old academy.

Wandering through downtown Vale, the human came upon yet another of the medical centers. This one had its perimeter guarded by faunus extremists, two bullheads circling the roof, and a high concentration of patrols within the next few blocks. "That looks promising," Ruby said to herself.

Carefully and slowly climbing the building across from her new target, 'Sacred Heart Hospital,' Ruby scoped out its defenses as much as she could without actually getting inside. Crouching by the edge of the roof, she observed how those who entered and exit were stopped and checked by the door guards. There were gun emplacements on either side of the entrance, and every five or so minutes, an APC would roll down the street. ' _Yeah, they're definitely guarding something important. Ten lien says it's Yang._ '

Suddenly, Ruby felt a blade pressed against her throat. Being an aura user, even if that would take a lot of aura to protect against, she wasn't too worried by the weapon; it was that her attacker got so close without any warning. "Move an inch, and I'll kill you." The voice sounded familiar, but Ruby just couldn't place it.

Unable to move her head down far enough to see what type of weapon her opponent was using, Ruby decided that to see what she was dealing with, she would have to turn around. "Wow, I didn't even hear a footstep. You must have been doing this for a long time."

"You calling me old?"

"Not old," Ruby subtly grasped the folded Crescent Rose in its holster and readied herself, "just slow."

In a second, Ruby had turned around. Her right hand grasped her beloved scythe, and swung it so that the blade was now pressed against the attacker's back and her finger was on the trigger. Her left hand had shot out to keep their weapon at bay. Where she expected to find grab an arm, her hand found the weapon's long shaft instead, and gripped it tightly making sure it couldn't touch her.

Ruby looked at the other person, and her eyes shot open. He was looked older than she would imagine the five or six years would have left him, but there was no denying it was him- besides, she'd know that weapon anywhere. After all, it's what inspired her own beloved Crescent Rose.

"Qrow!?"

Ruby's uncle was clearly going through the same shock, though he recovered much more quickly. "I personally preferred the red cloak, you already have enough black in your outfit."

* * *

Qrow and his niece returned to his safe house, a dilapidated building on the edge of town. When they got inside, the older one closed the door and locked it. The inside wasn't decorated at all, and only had the furniture necessary; a bed, a couple chairs, and a table.

Oh, and enough alcohol to last for years of continuous use.

"So what are you doing here, kid?" Ruby's uncle asked as he took a seat. "Last I heard you just vanished off the face of Remnant about the time they found your team."

"I'm here for Yang, I'm getting RWBY back together," came the curt reply. "And I'm guessing that's what you were planning too, or at least they Yang part."

Qrow nodded, disappointment clear on his face. "Yeah, but I just can't get her out. I've spent weeks trying to cause a big enough problem that they would abandon their posts, but nothing is working. They're always holding their position when I get back. Blow up a truck, they're still there, blow open the tunnel to Mountain Glenn again to release a couple Beowolves that survived into the city, they're still there!"

He groaned in annoyance. "Not that I'd know how to help her. The doctors couldn't figure out why she wouldn't wake up, how can I?" He opened the top to his flask and took a drink.

"Don't worry, I can take care of that. We just need to focus on drawing them away long enough that we can get in without them trying to move her to 'safety'. And how the Hell do you still have a liquor stash? Your entire race has been decimated, you're actively being hunted, but you've always got your alcohol at the ready!" Ruby responded to the hunter,

"I have my ways. This stuff's called 'Resolved Soul', you should try some-"

"Wait, Resolved Soul!? You _drink_ that!? It's 300% proof, it's not even physically possible for that to exist! That means for every bottle you drink, you've consumer 1.5 bottles of pure alcohol! It could only be made by one man using his semblance, which managed to defy the laws of nature!" She cried out in horror.

Qrow smirked. "Oh, and how would you know all this?"

In response, Ruby waved her arms and shouted at her uncle. "Dad always kept some in a cabinet as a high-powered _drain cleaner_! Vacuo once utilized it as a method for the _death penalty_ ; until it got declared inhumane, that is! The smallest amount ever drank with a survivor was a single shot glass, and they went permanently blind!" She stared at her uncle, who sat motionless.

After a moment, Qrow just shrugged and took another gulp.

"I hate you."

"Missed you too, kiddo."

Just then, the sound of aircraft passing overhead filled their ears. Peeking out the window, the pair watched as a fleet of transports flew into the city. Dozens of bullheads heading into the heart of Vale, some dropping off troops at locations along the way. Large vehicles rumbled through the street, more and more squads of terrorists walked along the streets. It was a force of White Fang the likes of which they hadn't seen since their initial attacks across the world.

"I think they got tired of me messing with their garrison." Qrow stated as he stared at the large number of troops that were flooding into the city.

"Actually, I think we might be at fault for this." His niece responded.

"We?"

Ruby smiled, "come with me. There are some old friends you can reconnect with, and it'll finally get you to spend some time with other people."

* * *

The elevator doors opened with a ding and the two of them looked at the group that had come together during the course of this journey. "Ozpin!" Qrow said mirthfully. "You!" He said in the same tone while facing Goodwitch.

Looking at the two younger members that had been seated in the hall, he greeted each one. "I assume you are Yang's partner, Blake?" The raven-haired faunus nodded. "And you must be Marvin. I haven't seen you in quite some time!"

The boy looked bewildered by this. "You've met me before?" Qrow nodded.

"Yep. Had to go on a mission for Ozzy over there once, and he had me spend the night at your parents' place while I was in town. They didn't ever invite me back weirdly, something about being a bad influence on you. They always were a bit crazy."

"Do you carry that flask everywhere you go?" Qrow ignored him.

"Guys, focus." The youngest of their number said, pulling a map of vale from her backpack. "So you four don't know because you've been down here the whole time, but the White Fang just marched a massive force into Vale. Their security around Yang was already impressive, but now we don't stand a chance in a straight-up fight."

Sighing, Ruby held her head in her hands. "Unless we can find a way to send their forces into disarray or lure them away, we can't get to my sister; and nothing Uncle Qrow has done so far managed to accomplish this."

The room fell silent as everyone pondered different solutions to this before Blake spoke up. "I'll do it."

"What? Blake, you just woke up from a five year coma, you're not going anywhere."

The faunus shook her head. "Really, I' fine, I just want to free Yang. I'm faunus and can walk around undetected. Better yet, I used to be a part of them, I could probably sneak in and do some sabotage. I'll do it."

The large hallway was quiet until Blake's old leader responded slowly. "If you're sure… go for it…. Be careful, and as soon as you're done, get back here and we'll go."

The faunus nodded and picked up her new weapon, a basic katana with an ice dust-infused blade, and prepared to go out into the night. After she had left, Beacon's former headmaster turned to his nephew. "And no, Marvin, he doesn't carry _that_ flask everywhere. Ruby has informed me of its contents, and from what I understand, Mr. Branwen here must get a new flask every couple of weeks, as the alcohol inside begins dissolve the bottom."

Now looking at Qrow, he said, "and if you ever need more, we kept a supply in one of our storage room. We would either put some in a vat inside the workshop so that those working on their weapons could dip them in to remove all grime and Grimm blood, or we had it in our office to dispose of any sensitive documents."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

 **Oh yeah, Qrow's back bitches! So 'Resolved Soul' is based on the strongest drink in the world called 'Rectified Spirit' (in Russian). The alcoholic content was based on a bit in Red Dwarf (bonus points if you've seen that). Also, cheers to anyone who knows what show 'Sacred Heart Hospital' is from (yes, googling it is cheating).**

 **So we're almost to Yang, guys, you excited!? No, well that's too bad!**

 ** _Please_ remember to follow, favorite, and/or review! Reviews are really what keep me (and most writers, I assume) going. Thanks guys!**

 **Minesniper out.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, it's finally done, the last build-up chapter until the Yang rescue chapter. Get excited because next chapter _might_ have a surprise for you (good or bad though... no promises!)**

* * *

(Chapter 15)

' _Sacred Heart Hospital… how the Hell do I get in?_ ' Blake was looking at the entrance to the building, stumped on how to get in. What Ruby had seen before didn't compare to what Blake faced now. Squads of soldiers on every corner, barrels of sniper rifles poking out over the edges of roof-tops, tanks –actual _tanks_ \- guarding the hospital.

Blake needed to get in and find Yang. Not only would it be important for the day they broke her out, but if this was all a bluff and she wasn't even in the building, it could be a trap. The White Fang's recent swarming of the city proved they knew Ruby's group was here, and it was likely they knew who she was after too.

As the former White Fang agent walked around the back of the hospital, a door opened and a janitor dragged out three large bags of trash. Pointing at the two guards that had been watching that entrance, he said, "you two- make yourselves useful and help me carry this to the dumpster."

As he walked off carrying one of the bags, the two White Fang looked at each other in confusion. "Can he order us around like that?" The other shrugged in response. Each of them picked up a bag of garbage and followed the janitor. "Huh, that's convenient." Blake said.

The cat-eared faunus slipped in through the open door, and walked into one of the hospital's large hallways. Walking through a thin crowd of faunus, she made her way to the elevators and got on one of them.

The compartment was crowded- there were several people asking for different floors, two of which were White Fang soldiers who asked for the third floor. ' _Guess that's as good a place to start looking as any_.'

When the doors opened on floor three, the guards, Blake, and two civilians exited the elevator. Wandering past the rooms, the girl noticed there were fewer and fewer faunus visiting patients around her. Soon, she found herself in a hallway devoid of people, save for two guards standing on either side of a room.

Swallowing her nervousness, Blake walked down the hall as casually as she could, trying to be as subtle as possible as she moved to get a better look at the protected room. Soon the two White Fang members noticed her, and moved toward her. "Hey, nobody's allowed in this hallway. That's why we cleared out the other patients. Who are you?"

Worried now, Blake tried to get out of there. "Oh, sorry, I must have gotten lost. I'm Lily Black, I'm here to see my grandmother." The guards either didn't buy it, or didn't care.

"Look, we're going to need to ask you some questions. Now if you'll just come with us-" Blake broke into a sprint suddenly. The soldier swore and began chasing her. As she passed the room's window, she almost tripped as she saw the body of Yang laying in the bed. Steeling her nerves, she promised herself she would keep it together until Yang was back and safe. Blake rounded a corner, leapt down a flight of stairs, and started weaving through the crowd on the second floor.

Turning into a smaller hall, she bumped into the janitor from before. His uniform was a grey button-up shirt with its sleeves rolled up on top of a white t-shirt. These were tucked into grey pants with a black utility belt around his waist. He had brown hair and graying-blue eyes. He looked down at her in confusion, then the two heard shouting. "Find that girl! You, turn right here, the rest of you, follow me!

"Quickly, in here!" He said quietly, and opened the door. Blake went inside and drew her weapons in case this was a trick, but the janitor just grabbed a screwdriver and then shut the door. Blake waited, completely still, then she heard the White Fang soldier run over.

"Hey, you, open that door!" The girl froze, he was going to come in either way. The janitor had tried his best, but it was up to her now. "What do you think I'm _trying_ to do? Door's broke, it'll be the fifth time this week it don't open."

"Maybe there's a paper clip stuck in there." He offered helpfully.

The janitor paused for a moment. "Why a paper clip?"

"I- I don't know…." Blake held her breath and didn't move an inch, terrified of revealing her presence.

"Did you _stick_ a paper clip in there?" The janitor asked accusatorially. Blake could hear the soldier stammering on the other side of the door, and repressed a smirk.

"N-no, I was just trying to help-"

"If I find a paper clip in there… _I'm taking you down_." Blake nearly laughed as she heard the soldier scurry off. A few seconds later, the door opened and Blake stepped back out. "Why'd you help me?" She asked.

"Eh, the White Fang killed my last nemesis when they took over, figured it was time I get a new one." As he said this, he picked up a paper clip off his cart of cleaning supplies and jammed it in the door; once it was dirty and bent, he slipped it in his pocket.

"Do you do this often?"

"Get moving, you. I've got a soldier to terrify." Blake put her hand on his arm and stopped him. "Wait, I don't even know your name."

He smiled. "John Evergreen Tore" And with that, he walked off.

Blake smiled and made her way down the set of stairs and exited through the back door. Suddenly she saw two rifles pointed in her face. It was the two guards from earlier. "Who are you and what are you doing out back?"

Using her fake identity again, Blake responded. "I- I'm Lily Black, I was visiting my grandmother and some janitor just came up to me and told me to go get him a coffee. I was a bit afraid to say no."

The two rifles were lowered. "Trust us, we know how you feel. Go ahead." Blake strode away from the building, and when she rounded the corner, began to make her way toward her next target.

"Wait a second." Blake paused mid-stride, her mind just now processing what she'd heard earlier. "John E. Tore? Janitor…. God damn it."

* * *

Ruby was pacing back and forth in the dark hall. Ozpin and Glynda had taken the Nevermore to get Hunter, leaving her, Marvin, and Qrow alone. "She should be back now!" Ruby said impatiently.

"No, she shouldn't." Qrow countered. He didn't like seeing Ruby like this, but her brooding and pacing was starting to get annoying. "If she was back already, it would be because she's decided there's no way she can help and she's given up. Remember, Blake's making sure Yang is where we think she is, then sneaking into a White Fang military base so she can hack into their systems and upload a version of the virus that we got off the computers here. If she did all of that already, I'd suspect her of being a double agent who they just let in."

"Are you accusing her of being a White Fang agent!?" Ruby yelled.

"What? No, look kid, you need to calm down. I was saying there's no way in Hell she could be done yet. Now slow down, stop wearing a rut into the floor, and give her some time." Qrow was just about done with his niece. "I get that you're worried about your team, but Blake will get back safe, then we're going to get your sister as soon as we can."

The lights flickered, going out for a couple seconds before turning back on. "What was that?" Ruby asked. Qrow looked up, studying the light fixtures. "I don't know who repaired Beacon's generator, or why for that matter, but it looks like it wasn't exactly professionally done."

Ruby cradled her head in her hands. "Great, _just great_! If we didn't have enough problems already, now we're having power failures! What happens if the generator breaks down before we get Yang and Weiss?" Rubbing her eyes, the red-head sighed heavily. "I need to go to the surface and get some fresh air."

Ruby walked to the elevator, pressing the button for the first floor. When she left, Qrow and Marvin were alone. "So… you met her in prison… what was she like there?" Marvin though for a moment.

"She seemed kind of cute at first, then absolutely terrifying."

"That's my girl."

When the doors opened, Ruby breathed in the cool morning air. She set off on a walk around Beacon, visiting the classrooms she once sat in, reminiscing about the classes and good times had there. Eventually she made it to her old dorm.

Looking inside was like opening a time-capsule. The room still had their decorations, the shoddily repaired curtains, and of course, Ruby's precariously suspended bunk-beds. All of the drawers were open, it seemed the room had been scoured by somebody scavenging for supplies, but otherwise it was in decent condition.

Ruby hoisted herself up onto her bed and lied on it, thinking about how different things were back then. Her time at Beacon seemed like it had happened decades ago, yet it had been 6 or 7 years at the most.

Again, Ruby heard the sound of clicking as someone walked away from her. She'd given up trying to find them. She would arrive in seconds and the room would be empty. She'd seen brief flashes of movement and lights on in the school, the footsteps that sounded like a woman in heels; but no idea who it was.

Quietly, she wondered who the mystery person was and why they had yet to interact with her group. The area wasn't swarming with faunus, yet they kept themselves hidden, but their skill at stealth and their boldness would suggest they weren't very scared of the group.

It was an enigma, but as Ruby returned to the vault beneath the school, all she could think of was finally getting to see her sister's face again.

* * *

Getting into the base was disgustingly easy. Blake could tell that the organization she had once been a member of had grown much bigger from how it was run. Back in the old days when everyone reported to one of three or four officers, each of whom worked directly under Adam, things were run much more strictly. Here however, these soldiers were overseen by an officer. That officer reported to his superior, who reported to his superior, who reported to his superior, who would work under Adam. ' _If he's even still the one in charge_.'

The end result was that these faunus had little fear of being reprimanded, for by the time anyone who was really big on order and protocol heard about their ineptitude, they were already too busy to deal with something so trivial as keeping track of where every single soldier was. It wasn't just a small terror cell anymore, now… now it was like a poorly managed –albeit massive- army.

All Blake had to do was knock out a guard on their own, put on their mask and uniform, then shuffle in with a patrol returning from their route. Once inside, Blake broke away from the group and made her way through the compound searching for their server room.

When Blake found it, she slipped in through the door and shut it behind herself. Walking up to a terminal and taking a seat, Blake removed the mask with a sigh. "Never liked those masks anyway." Taking a USB drive from her pocket, Blake inserted it into one of the computers, watching as all the screens in the room glowed red with a black chess piece at their center before returning to their normal coloration.

Just as she was preparing to leave, the door slid open and revealed a female faunus. She wore an all black uniform with the symbol of the White Fang on her left arm, and a 'G' on her right arm. The uniform of a Kill Squad. The woman raised a pistol with a long blade running out from under the barrel- good for parrying blows while using a ranged weapon should her target get too close. "Hey! You're not supposed to be in here. Who- Blake?" The woman faltered slightly as she recognized the intruder.

The huntress knew who she as facing as well. It was a deer faunus named Hazel. They'd been close during Blake's time in the organization, they'd even saved each other's lives a couple times when a mission went wrong or when they were attacked by random humans.

Now they were enemies. Hazel worked for the people who had done _this_ to Vale, the same people who wanted Blake dead and kept Yang under heavy guard in a coma. Feeling pity for her old friend, Blake took this momentary distraction to knock the gun from Hazel's hand with her sword before charging her.

Hazel dodged the strike, and kept trying to grab her weapon; but to no avail. Eventually in desperation, Hazel dove for the gun, but it was kicked from her reach and she was left staring at the point of a sharp sword. Blake knew the threat that her old friend posed- not only could she alert the White Fang to Blake's presence, but as a member of a Kill Squad in another fight when she wasn't distracted, she could be a much more dangerous foe.

Looking down at her though, Blake couldn't finish her off. "I won't kill you. That would make me no better than what you all have twisted the White Fang into. Please, just go home, leave these people. When I left, it was the best decision I ever made. Don't let them make a monster out of you."

Blake sheathed her sword and left. As soon as she left the confines of the base, Blake ran for the long stairway that would lead her up the cliff and back to Beacon Academy.

* * *

The elevator door chimed as it opened. Blake came across an odd scene. Ruby was bound to a chair by some of Glynda's glyphs while Marvin and a man she hadn't seen before tried to hold a Beowolf back from attacking Ruby's uncle while Ozpin stood off to the side with his head in his hands.

"What the Hell did I miss?"

Everyone stopped moving at once and looked at Blake. The binds on Ruby disappeared and she stood up. "Uncle Qrow thought my pacing was annoying so her forced me into a chair so that Glynda could keep me still. Scruff, you remember him, right? He didn't like seeing me pushed around, so now he wants to eat Qrow. They're trying to stop that from happening."

"And Ozpin?" Blake asked, looking at the still headmaster.

"Wondering where I went wrong." He responded.

"Blake," Ruby said, "this is Hunter. Hunter, this is my team mate, Blake. Quick introductions- Hunter, Blake is the team's angst-y mysterious one who won't admit she needs help to save her life. Blake, Hunter is Jaune 2.0." Hunter raised his hand. "Uh, I keep hearing you guys say that, and I feel like it's not a compliment."

"It isn't." Blake quickly clarified. "I found Yang and uploaded the virus. We're ready to go when you want Ruby."

The black-cloaked huntress addressed the whole room. "Alright then, everyone get some rest. Tomorrow we're getting Yang, and then it's off to Atlas. We'll discuss the plan then. Goodnight, let's make sure this goes off without a hitch."

* * *

 **Alright, a bit shorter than usual, but I'm pressed for time (Beta-reading a chapter, writing two chapters for a collab fic coming out really soon, writing the last chapter of Family Gifts, jotting down a few story ideas, updating my profile, and writing this. And that's just the fanfiction related stuff. Imagine the rest of my life on top of that.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed, kudos to anyone who watched Scrubs and liked my janitor cameo, leave a review and follow/favorite.**

 **Oh, and feel free to chime in on whether or not I should put Raven in the story later. She's the one character I haven't made my mind up about yet. Everyone else is dead, missing, captured, or planned to show up. She is still up in the air though, so share your thoughts!**

 **Thanks,**

 **Minesniper**


	16. Chapter 16

***Comes in wearing full body armor* Now just hear me out before murdering me. Yes, I realize that I have in fact taken nearly 2 months to upload this. I have many excuses, but here's the time saving version: I was b** **usy with college applications, summer assignments, an internship, and now school itself. I also started writing my new fanfiction 'The Plot Hole', which took some time on its own, and I am writing a one-off for the anniversary of my account being made. I w** **as also indoctrinated into the cult of Overwatch and got addicted to it.**

 **My bad.**

 **Anyways, here is the chapter you've waited unacceptably long for. The next one should come sooner, I hope to get back on track with my biweekly uploads now.**

 ** _Now_ you may being the murderizing.**

* * *

(Chapter 16)

When everyone beneath Beacon woke up in the morning, no words were exchanged. Each person gathered their weapons, ate some rations, and gathered by the elevator. When the doors slid shut, the group of people though over what was to come.

When the doors opened at ground level, the occupants exited and began heading in their respective directions. Blake, Glynda, Qrow, and Ozpin began the long walk down the many flights of stairs that led up to the top of the cliff Beacon sat on. Hunter approached the Nevermore and climbed inside, starting its engines and preparing for take-off. Finally, Ruby, Marvin and Scruff took to the forest.

The red-cloaked huntress' goal was simple. She would get as close to Vale as they could by following the river fed by Beacon's waterfall. When they reached the city walls, Ruby and Marvin would get the White Fang's attention with one of the few things that could scare them… a Grimm.

Well, Scruff was a dog, but the White Fang didn't need to know that.

By causing as much chaos as they could, Ruby's team would allow the others easier access to the center of the city where Yang lay. When they had collected the blonde, Hunter would come in and let them board just like Glynda had in Vacuo. ' _If it ain't broke, don't fix it._ '

When the three reached Vale's outer wall, Ruby turned to Marvin. Though his hands were shaking, the boy nodded at her and placed one hand against the stone. Squeezing his eyes shut, he began to use his semblance. The section of wall crumbled slightly as it turned to sand, then he stepped back. "Thanks, Roll," Ruby said.

Turning to her Grimm-like dog, she girl smiled. "Scruff… _play._ "

At that word, the dog charged into the weakened wall and burst through. Scruff howled as he stood on his hind legs, before barreling down the street in search of those delightful squeaky-toys that wore the funny masks.

"Roll, if you can't do it again, you can just come with me. You don't need to keep using your semblance. I know how you feel about it." The huntress addressed him in a voice softer than she had used for quite some time. Despite this, Marvin shook his head.

"No. You need as much chaos caused as you can if we're going to draw them away. Besides, I need to get over this one day, I can't keep wasting such a powerful semblance." The boy replied resolutely. Ruby still felt somewhat remorseful for her insensitivity about this subject back in Vacuo, even if it wasn't her fault.

Still, her friend wouldn't budge on the subject, so she let it go.

The two humans split up and headed in opposite directions, each seeking out a target of value away from the hospital. By going through the White Fang's database once the virus had granted them access, the small resistance located several points of interest. Ruby would be playing the part of an assassin, hunting down several high ranking officers and informants of the faunus extremist group. Marvin, however, had a job somewhat grander.

With the White Fang reorganized as a proper ruling authority, they weren't able to steal weaponry and munitions anymore- they had to produce it. Ozpin's 'nephew' would be putting his unique semblance to work by taking out several of such foundries throughout the city. They may not have had the red Dust for explosives, but they didn't need it if the structures simply collapsed.

While the three members of the distraction team moved into position, the recovery team did the same. The four hunters and huntresses slunk through alleys still dark in the early morning hours they had chosen for their attack. Qrow and Blake led the group, both skilled in stealth, though only the former needed it. The more conspicuous pair, the former Beacon professors, followed behind when they were told the coast was clear.

When they were just a few blocks from Sacred Heart Hospital, they took shelter in an old building and waited for the sirens that signified the attacks had begun. Blake retrieved the scroll she had connected to the White Fang network and prepared to throw them into chaos.

* * *

Ruby had known that with her speed, she would be the one to set off their attack. She reached the building that currently housed one of the White Fang's base commanders. When she saw him emerge, right on schedule, she took a deep breath, and fired.

 _*BANG*_

The crack of Crescent Rose rung out as the officer was knocked off his feet by the blast. Before he could even realize what had just happened, three more shots were fired in quick succession, blasting through his aura and killing him.

Ruby instantly shot off with her semblance and bolted deeper into the city. She was after her next target, their head technician. Her plan had another part to it, if she kept targeting officers and leaders, those that remained would be more hesitant to get involved in the chaos that will soon spread like wildfire through the streets of Vale. If all the White Fang leaders are dead or hiding, any hope of an organized force will crumble.

Spotting the man walking with a patrol, Ruby dashed behind him and swung her scythe upwards, launching him slightly into the air, before bringing the point down on the center of his back and pinned his corpse to the sidewalk.

Again, Ruby ran to her next victim, leaving his escort alive. They would report this, as would all the other White Fang who witness their leaders falling. The flood of emergency calls would soon be lost amongst a sea of false ones, though. The White Fang may have the resources to deal with Ruby's attacks, but if they can't even tell what's really under attack, how can they deploy their forces to counter her?

They can't be everywhere at once, but with a little bit of deception, Ruby can appear to be.

She allowed herself a small smile thinking about the panic that must be going through the minds of their communications officers. It was then that Vale's emergency sirens came on all at once, Blake had begun to flood their system with the fake reports of disasters and dangerous situations. Recorded emergency broadcasts were automatically played through the speakers across the city, warning the citizens of everything from a large-scale Grimm invasion to a hurricane. The audio overlapped and drowned out all other noise. Ruby's ears hurt from the volume, but she ignored it and continued with her hunt.

* * *

Blake's cat ears flattened when she set of the city emergency broadcasts, and no doubt every faunus in the city felt the same. As soldiers ran around the streets and armored vehicles rolled down the roads on their way to locations under attack, two hunters and two huntresses ducked in and out of alleys on their way to Sacred Heart Hospital.

It wasn't too long until they stood behind the large white building. Blake and Qrow snuck up on the guards who couldn't hear their approach over the sirens, and took them out with quick, precise swings. The group then pushed the doors open and stepped foot onto the clean tile floor of the hospital. Navigating by memory, the cat faunus led the adults up the stairs. None of them bothered to try blending in or sneaking around- the time for cloak-and-dagger was gone. Now it had become a hit-and-run.

Reaching Yang's floor, the four of them dashed down the hall until they saw the faunus extremist guards by a door. The pair turned to fire at the oncoming intruders, but Qrow and Ozpin were on them before they could put up much of a resistance.

Ozpin and Glynda stood outside while Yang's uncle and girlfriend went in. While the scythe-user carefully extricated Yang from the medical equipment hooked up to her, Blake opened her scroll. "Hunter, we got her, hover by the third floor about halfway across on the east side!"

His response, however, shot a bolt of fear through Blake's heart. _"That's not going to happen, Blake. They've got all kinds of airships flying around the city, they've got their whole Bullhead fleet in the sky, and they're all converging on the hospital!"_

Steeling her nerves, the cat responded. "Keep circling the city, when I call again, be ready to come in fast!" Turning to the aging hunter, she said, "they know we're here and they're bringing everything they've got. We need to go, _now!_ "

Bursting out into the hallway, Blake pointed at the witch of Beacon Academy. "Can you use your telekinesis to carry Yang? We need to leave now and we can't afford to be slowed down." Receiving a nod in response, the cat began dialing on her scroll again as they made their escape from the hospital.

* * *

Marvin reached the third factory of the day and ran in through the door. Security guards jumped at the noise and trained their guns on the strange boy. He ducked behind a machine of some kind for cover from the first volley. Rolling out of his hiding spot, Marvin ran around the room, brushing his hand against as many support beams as possible.

To the casual observer it would appear as if his hand simply moved through the metal. Upon closer inspection, however, they would discover that it turned to sand as his hand brushed against it. Once he was satisfied with his work, Marvin hid behind desk. Raising his hands, he carved out a circle in the roof above him, sand sprinkling down on his crouched for. Then, he pushed his hands outwards and the already weakened beams suffered a final burst of power as they evaporated into sand.

The roof collapsed around him, crushing machine and White Fang alike before Marvin rose from the ruins and began to jog toward his next target. He would continue repeating this to building after building until he was given the signal that Yang had been retrieved and it was time to regroup at Beacon.

Or he was _going_ to, until his scroll vibrated in his pocket. Opening it, he accepted the call from Blake. "We can't get out with the plane! We're heading to the docks now, you need to meet us there! We've got the whole White Fang after us, they knew exactly what the real objective was!"

Swearing under his breath, Marvin closed the device and ran east toward the docks. There were quite a few locations along the docks they could be heading too, but if what Blake said was true, he could just follow the sound of explosions.

* * *

Ruby already had her scroll in hand when the call came through. She had been expecting it ever since she'd watched the armada of airships taking off across the city. "How'd they find out!?" She demanded before Blake could even begin to speak.

"I don't know, we took out the guards too quickly for a distress signal, and they couldn't have prepared all those ships for combat so quickly. They would have had to know we were coming beforehand- _oh no_. Ruby I think we're about to be dealing with Kill Teams, we need you here _now!_ " Came the faunus' reply.

Growling in frustration, the black-caped huntress stuffed her scroll in a pocked and launched herself toward the mob of bullheads that were heading toward the city's dockyards. Despite the White Fang's overwhelming number, Ruby didn't hesitate for a moment. ' _I don't care what happens, they are not taking my team mates from me. Not this time. I'll die before I let my friends get hurt again._ '

* * *

Glynda using her telekinesis and Ozpin using his magic, the two brought a raised bridge down on the street behind them, cutting off that avenue for the White Fang's vehicles. Soon they had arrived at the docks and immediately set about preparing for war. The two members of Beacon's staff caused as much damage as they could to keep out tanks and transports from nearing their position, while Blake brought Yang as far away from the action as she could.

Setting the unconscious girl down against a warehouse, Blake ran back to the other members of their resistance. The sounds of battle already echoed through the harbor as squads of terrorists ran in to meet the humans who dared fight back against them. A bullhead flew into sight before a shard of ice pierced its front window.

Judging by how the aircraft careened off into the water, Glynda had either hit the controls, or the pilot.

Several White Fang fire-teams clambered over the pile of debris that blocked the road and rained a storm of dust bullets down on their enemies. Ozpin formed a green sphere of energy around the group which blocked all of the incoming shots, the bubble then burst outward and blasted back any soldier unlucky enough to be caught out of cover.

Qrow dashed around the battlefield, sword in hand, cutting apart any who were trying to sneak behind the hunters. The four of them were keeping their foes well at bay, and it felt like the battle was going their way.

It was then, however, that three bullheads mounted with chain-guns flew over them. The aircraft sprayed the ground with bullets, forcing the hunters and huntresses to duck into cover. Using this chance, new groups of soldiers charged over the debris and started flooding into the dock.

While their enemies fought to push back their advance on the ground, the White Fang started flying more bullheads over the battlefield. Some dropped their soldiers and flew off, while other hovered in place while its occupants opened fire. Blake Gambol Shroud to its pistol form and shot back at them, only for the pilot to shut the door to shield the soldiers within. When it opened again, Goodwitch flicked her riding crop at it and send a purple orb of energy flying at it.

Her projectile managed to slip in just before the door could close again, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, the ship burst apart from within- the door flew off, the wings were torn apart, and the tail snapped. Half a dozen faunus fell among the wreckage onto the pavement below.

Then the pile of rubble blocking the street exploded, and from the dust marched several Atlesian Paladins. Each one fired its barrage of rockets at their foes before moving in to engage. As Ozpin and Glynda sought to counter them, a sleek, black aircraft hovered over head. For a moment, Blake was relieved to see the Nevermore, thinking that it was Hunter; but that was before its door opened up and a Kill Team jumped out.

"Qrow! Kill Team!" The old hunter turned to see four well-armed faunus approaching him. He shifted his weapon into its scythe form, and took up a defensive position. Blake was about to join him, before she noticed that the Nevermore hadn't flown off entirely. In fact, it had only gone a short distance, and she could see more teams drop from it behind all the fighting.

Right by Yang.

* * *

Marvin kicked a White Fang soldier in the back of the head as he vaulted over a couple of his fellows, firing down on them with his pistols. ' _They're worthless in a fight, but there are just so many of them. You've got to give the White Fang credit for that, they just won't give up._ '

As if the universe itself had heard his thoughts and decided to prove him wrong, a faunus wearing a different mask turned the corner with a squadron of soldiers. His large muscles were shown off by his sleeveless uniform. He was unarmed, though it was obvious he it was because he didn't feel like weapons were necessary. Marvin fired a volley of shots at them, scattering the lesser warriors, but the brute kept walking as if he hadn't felt the bullets.

Switching his guns to their blade form, the boy launched into a series of strikes against the large faunus, but the strikes bounced off his aura harmlessly. Marvin knew he was in for a difficult fight- he had nothing to turn into sand to put the faunus at a disadvantage, and he only used his semblance on a living thing as a last resort.

The hulking faunus extended razor-sharp claws from his fingertips and began slashing at him. Evading them skillfully, Marvin jumped up and planted his feet in the man's face before kicking off. This managed to push the brute back, but after his stumble he quickly recovered and charged straight back in.

A flash of red appeared in the corner of his eye as Ruby ran by him and caught the faunus in the chest with her scythe. It seemed to have an effect, as the attacker growled in frustration as he once again began attempting to cut the humans to ribbons. Ruby again tried to land a hit-and-run, but this time was knocked aside by the terrorist's surprisingly fast reflexes.

"Roll, turn the pavement to sand if you can!" With a deep breath, the boy did as he was told. Soon the three combatants stood atop a street of sand, and Ruby began to run. Going in circles, she whipped up the sand into a cyclone, barraging the faunus with airborne particles and blinding him.

Then the huntress resumed dashing in and out of the storm, hacking at the disoriented man within. Eventually, once the winds had died down, the image of Ruby standing over the defeated faunus was revealed. "Come on, we need to get to the docks." The black-cloaked girl said.

The pair sprinted down the street, cutting down any resistance in their way until they arrived at the battlefield the docks had become. Dozens of bullheads crashed and burning, courtesy of Goodwitch, a pair of disabled Atlesian Paladins, a squad bearing the uniform of a Kill Team, and more covered the ground. Three figures continued fighting against the unending horde of faunus and several mechs.

Immediately reverting to her old position as team leader, Ruby began giving out orders coordinating the fighters. "Roll, get on the roofs. Use that semblance of yours on bullhead engines, if you can take enough down, Hunter can extract us. Goodwitch, keep up a barrier and stem the tide of faunus. Ozpin and Qrow, you two handle the last of those Paladins."

Looking around in mild confusion, Ruby asked, "where are Yang and Blake?"

Her uncle jerked a thumb back toward the maze of shipping containers. "She took Yang back there before the fighting started and ran back about a minute ago." Ruby nodded and ran back to see if she needed any help. What she came across, however, was a situation far more dire than she had expected. Two Kill Teams surrounded her team mates, weapons at the ready. One girl whose weapon appeared to be a glorified pistol with a bayonet stepped forward, shouting at Blake. Then she lifted her arm and fired a bullet.

The cat faunus tried to dodge it, but the bullet still grazed her arm. Instead of bouncing off, however, it drew blood. ' _Aura piercing bullets._ ' Then the same White Fang soldier pointed the gun at the unconscious form of Ruby's sister.

Ruby's vision went red.

* * *

 **I cannot be held accountable if someone dies next chapter, though I won't say if that's the case or not. But the options I have! Ah~. The comatose Yang, Blake giving her life to save her love, Ruby making the ultimate sacrifice for her friends; oh I feel like a kid in a candy store, except with more murder. Or less murder, if a clown owned the store...**

 **Now I'm very tired, so shoo. Leave a review, once again sorry for the insanely long wait, I hope to God that never happens again.**

 **Also, check out 'The Plot Hole' on my profile. It's a crackfic which is just mindless fun and comedy.**

 **Thanks,**

 **That sporadically slow writer you wish would just get focused on his fics again.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Looks like I'll be uploading whenever I can from now on as a schedule just isn't working for me right now. It seems like that should be about one chapter every two weeks, so a chapter per story a month.**

 **I'm sorry for what I'm going to do to you all in this chapter.**

* * *

(Chapter 17)

Blake sprinted through row after row of heavy, metal shipping containers. Many of them had the large red emblem of the White Fang painted over whatever company used to own it. Hearing voices, she slowed. They were right by Yang.

"That's her. Call the Nevermore back for pick-up, if we can get out of here without them noticing, Lupen's going to be very happy." Blake's blood ran cold in her veins. It was the voice of Hazel, her old friend hadn't taken the chance to run from the White Fang. Not only that, but she was about to take Yang- Blake _couldn't_ let that happen!

Rounding the corner, the cat faunus leapt over the line of faunus and placed herself between them and Yang. There were eight of them in total, making two whole Kill Squads. They all raised their weapons and attacked at once. Blake could only dodge using her clones, there were simply too many of them. Managing to get behind one of her enemies, the ex-terrorist clubbed him over the head with her sword.

Moving past the crumpled man, Blake tried to land a blow on a faunus whose weapon appeared to only be a gun. Unfortunately, one of their comrades came to his aid by deflecting her hit with his shield. Blake felt something hit her in the back, and she cried out as she fell. Immediately turning the fall into a roll, the girl got back on her feet and spun around to face her attackers.

The one she'd hit was getting to his feet, while the other seven slowly surrounded her with their weapons leveled at her head. In the middle of all of them stood Hazel, the deer faunus's anger was as clear as day on her face. "You just can't help yourself, can you? You always have to try and get in the way of our goal. You leave the White Fang, you fight against us, and now you aid these _humans_ in their rebellion! We've finally earned the peace we fought so hard for, and now you're trying to start another war!"

"I left the White Fang because what you started doing was wrong!" Blake bit back. "And look how far you went- genocide! You've killed every human you didn't decide to enslave, this isn't peace! Look at what the faunus have to live in now. Do you think they wanted to live in these ruins that were once huge lively cities?"

"Better this than live treated like sub-human creatures. At least now our people are free!"

Blake held back angry tears. This woman she stood at odds with was once her closest friend, but she was lost to the hatred that had festered in her heart. There was no convincing some people- they'd rather die than live alongside humans. "If you really believe the world is better off empty and in ruin than with humanity, then there is nothing more for me to say."

Her old friend stomped in rage. "Why can't you see that this is what's best? Why can't you tell this is finally what we'd all fought for, what we gave everything for!? You were my friend, and were one of our figureheads that were a light in the darkness for faunus everywhere; so I'll give you one chance." Hazel lowered her gun and extended a hand to the cat faunus.

"Please, Blake, come back. We'll show you how much better the world is, and you can join us again. The whole time you were in a coma, Adam kept trying to find out how to wake you up, he'll convince the general to let you back, I know he will! You belong with us, not those killers who we're keeping the innocent people across the world safe from."

Blake's resolve didn't waver. Her blade remained pointed at the White Fang around her, and she remained silent. Hazel's face fell, but only for a moment before her gaze hardened. "If you won't join us, then you'll be treated the same as any other traitor." Her arm whipped up as she took aim with the pistol in her hand.

Blake dove to the side, but it wasn't enough to avoid the shot fired at her. The huntress grit her teeth in pain as she felt the sting of the bullet grazing her arm. Looking up from the ground, she watched as Hazel turned her sights on Yang.

"Looks like we'll have to do this the quick way. Call off the Nevermore, we'll evacuate on foot." Blake was frozen in horror as she watched Hazel's finger pull the trigger. Time slowed to a crawl, the girl cried out the name of her love, and tried to jump at the shooter, only to be flung back as the world was engulfed in a red maelstrom.

Blood red petals fluttered through the air, nearly obscuring the view of a shimmering red scythe forcing the barrel of Hazel's gun skyward. "The bright outline of Ruby's red form swung its scythe around and hit the faunus's stomach, launching her back. In a burst of petals, the crimson girl vanished and reappeared by another group of extremists and forced them back with a swing that promised to cleave through anything in its path.

Recovering from her shock, Blake crawled over to the unconscious girl and prepared to carry her out of there, but when she tried to pull Yang, her right arm cried out in protest, the pain for her wound hindering her attempts.

A faint pink outline appeared by her side. Pink Ruby was on her knees, clearly still incredibly weak, but she was there all the same. The lighter side of the huntress rested her hands on Blake's injury, and it slowly mended itself. "Thank you." She said, though the pink girl could only smile tiredly in response.

Unfortunately, no matter how well Ruby fought, she couldn't keep track of eight people all at once. One boar faunus with a large mace ran up behind her and landed a blow on the black-haired huntress. Unsheathing her weapons, Blake responded with a flurry of slashes to his midsection, while carefully trying not to step on Yang.

With Blake distracted by her opponent, and Ruby taking on more than her fair share of the enemies herself, neither huntress noticed Hazel getting to her feet.

Hitting her foe over the head with the pommel of her sword, Blake bought herself some time to recollect her thoughts. Then Blake felt the wind from a bullet passing just by her. Turning to the gunner, the huntress's eyes locked with Hazel's, but the deer faunus had a twisted smile on her face. It only took Blake a moment to figure out what it meant.

" _I didn't miss."_

Spinning around, Blake saw the Blonde girl she loved lying a pool of red that was slowly growing. Forgetting the battle entirely, the girl fell to her knees by Yang, calling out her name. Blake's cry of horror drew Ruby's attention, and when she saw her sister, she screamed in anger. Ruby's weaponry morphed into its new, deadlier form, the world slowed around her, and she launched into a string of savage strikes against those who had hurt Yang.

"Ruby! We need to get Yang out of here!" Red Ruby dropped low and swung her scythe low, catching the ankles of five kill team members and tripping them. She sprinted to Blake's position, twirling her scythe around her body to block as many bullets as she could.

She skidded to a halt by her team mate and lodged Crescent Rose in the ground, firing bullet after bullet and the oncoming faunus. "You need to get her out of these containers and into the open, from there the others will be able to protect her! Get Miss Goodwitch to stabilize her!"

Blake grabbed hold of her girlfriend's body, but hesitated. "What about you?" She turned her head up to look at her leader.

Ruby glared at the White Fang. "I'm going to make them regret what they did."

As Blake disappeared around the corner with the injured huntress, Ruby turned her sights on the faunus who _dared_ hurt her sister. The eight of them were moving toward Ruby, weapons at the ready and death in their eyes.

Letting her anger course through her, the black-cloaked huntress twirled her precious weapon around, pressing its blade against her back. She felt her finger press itself against the trigger. Ruby steadied herself with a deep breath, then fired her gun.

Whizzing past the terrorists, Ruby whipped around before she'd even stopped and fired several more shots at the Kill Teams. They turned around to face her, only for Ruby to use her semblance and dash behind them, hitting them in the legs.

While she had only intended to sweep their legs out from underneath them, Ruby was surprised to see her blade pass through their aura and cut their legs off. ' _Oh, they're going to pay alright. If only I could control my two forms better, I could end fights in seconds.'_

Some of the faunus recoiled in horror as they saw their allies cut down so quickly, but they all assumed defensive stances and watched Ruby for the slightest hint of movement.

The huntress ducked when she felt something fly past her face. Turning, she saw one faunus woman throwing knives at her. Ruby dodged another two with ease, then deflected a third one. _'Hang on a second, that last one wasn't a knife….'_

Looking at the object on the ground, Ruby took the time to ponder what it was. It was a thin cylinder with a small note attached. _"Have a nice day!"_ Then the device exploded and Ruby fell to the ground, her eyes shut from the brightness and hands over her ringing ears.

* * *

When Blake broke free of the cover provided by the containers, she saw that the battle out front raged on, though somewhat more subdued.

The first one to notice her arrival was Qrow, who then shouted "Glynda! Get over here!" upon seeing Yang's condition.

"What happened to her?" The blonde woman asked Blake as she knelt beside her to tend to Yang's wound. Tearing away the clothes at the site of the bullet wound, the teacher asked Qrow for his cape.

Blake responded quickly. "She was shot by an aura piercing bullet that I thought was aimed for me! They dropped two Kill Teams just by her, and Ruby's fighting them right now!" Goodwitch cursed when she heard this. "We can't get the bullet out here, and until we do, aura transfusions won't be able to help her. We need to get Miss Xiao Long back to Beacon as soon as possible!"

Tearing a strip of cloth from Qrow's cape –the huntsman too worried about Yang to care- Glynda began pressing it against the wound, trying to control the bleeding. "You two should help Ruby, Hunter should be here in a few moments. We need to be ready to leave, and the last thing we need is another injury."

Blake and the huntsman left Yang's side somewhat reluctantly and navigated their way back to Ruby. When they arrived, the situation was clearly dire. Ruby was fighting back, but her slashes were clumsy, and her movements shaky. A couple of attacks missed their targets entirely and she seemed about to fall over- whether due to her stumbling or her squinted eyes, Blake wasn't sure.

They also arrived just in time to see Hazel line up a shot at the disoriented huntress. The faunus had many cuts and bruises marring her skin, there was burning hatred in her eyes, and a malevolent smirk adorning her face.

For the second time that day, Blake's former friend shot a member of her team. Ruby didn't go down, however, and turned to face her shooter. The red-haired girl fired a few shots back at Hazel, but another bullet from the terrorist tore ended her attempt at retaliation when it tore through her shoulder.

Falling to her knees, Ruby clutched her wounds. She could only vaguely see when Blake blocked a shot destined to finish her off. The downed huntress watched as the cat faunus she called "friend" unleashed her full fury upon the pistol-wielding terrorist.

Blake parried a stab from the pistol's blade, then slammed her blade against Hazel's face. Knocking the gun from the deer's grasp, Blake caught it and shot her enemy in the leg.

Qrow was fighting the other soldiers off, and Ruby was injured, but for a moment all Blake saw was the girl she'd once known staring back up at her. Hazel stared up at Blake fearfully. "W-wait, Blake-"

"I gave you a chance," Blake cut her off, her voice little more than a whisper, "I let you go and told you to leave. You didn't, and now you've shot two of the people I care most about in the whole world. What could you possibly say to me?"

The deer faunus fell silent, staring and the ground, and gave no reply. Blake didn't hesitate to do what she had to, nor did she flinch when she pulled the trigger, only regretting that it was Ruby and Yang who were paying for her mistake.

The scythe-using hunter scooped up his niece and they all rushed back to where their escape awaited them. Ozpin's eyes widened when he saw Ruby's injuries, and he rushed them back to Beacon as fast as he could.

* * *

"Quickly, this way." Ozpin yelled to the group, Goodwitch carrying Yang on a glyph, while Qrow and Hunter held Ruby. The headmaster was, for the first time, genuinely worried about their situation. Both Ruby and Yang were in critical condition, and they were running out of options.

Most wounds sustained by a hunter could be closed with use of their aura. If aura ran low, a fellow hunter could always perform a transfusion to replenish it. Unfortunately, in recent years, that was not the case. It was the reason so few hunters had survived this long. Black Dust.

Since the advent of black dust, huntsmen and huntresses had been facing a threat without equal. A hunter had four assets that elevated them above other warriors. Their aura, semblance, skill, and weapon. Aura protected and healed the user, semblances gave each a unique advantage in combat, their skills had been honed since they were children, and their weapons were more unique and varied than anything common soldiers would be equipped with.

Black dust completely eliminated what is often considered the most important; aura. Penetrating through the shield so many of their kind relied on was one thing, but it was their difficulty to heal that made black dust wounds so deadly. When the bullet enters the targets body, some residual dust is left in the path it took. This prevents any aura from reaching the site to repair the damage done; this meant any injury by one could only be given traditional medical care and must heal with time.

Out in the field, where hospitals were not available, an injury caused to a vital area by one of these meant death, and Ozpin was now watching that first-hand. Ruby's two injuries looked bad, but were not life-threatening. One bullet had hit her in the side, and the other connected with her shoulder

' _If only Miss Xiao Long was as lucky.'_

Yang's injury was far more dire, as the bullet had punctured a lung. They had no way to treat that injury well, and unless they could place Yang in stasis, she _would_ die. That, unfortunately, was far from the only complication.

Because of Yang's deterioration, the old wizard did not know if the aura transfer would work. Ruby's pink aura within Yang's body was depleting itself, desperately trying to heal from a wound that was unaffected by aura. Even if they put her in stasis, as Amber had proven, the suspended person would still deteriorate, admittedly at a slower rate.

If they did not perform the transfer, and Yang died, the fate of nearly one quarter of Ruby's soul was unknown. Would it return to her like with the power of the maidens, or would it be destroyed forever? If they performed the transfer and the low level of the aura caused a problem, there was no telling what could happen.

' _I fear that we may lose one of them before the day is out.'_ Ozpin thought worriedly. The group was crowded in the elevator, Glynda providing the best care that she could now that she understood the full extent of Yang's injuries, while Qrow and Marvin tried to control Ruby's bleeding.

When the doors opened, nobody needed to be told what to do, the group placed the sisters in each pod and Ozpin shut the doors, initiating the stasis fields. Leaning his cane against the terminal, the headmaster signed deeply and stared at the girls.

Qrow came up behind the professor and put a hand on his shoulder. "What do we do now?" He asked, any humor he'd once spoken with gone from his voice.

"We only have two choices, and neither are optimal." He went on to explain the options presented to them, able to see Qrow's pain when he explained the hypothetical consequences of Yang dying. When he was finished, the room was silent, until Qrow spoke up.

"We do the transfer."

When he received looks of surprise, he sighed and explained. "If we do it, Ruby will be able to recover with time, and we can continue trying to find the ice princess. Once we find her, we can place her in the empty pod until we find a way to save Yang, and once that's done, we do the final transfer. It's the only way I can see us getting her whole team back together and keeping them all alive."

Agreeing, Ozpin began the process of the aura transfer. Tapping a series of keys on the screen, the group watch in anticipation as the transfer began. Ozpin, Glynda, and Marvin, having been the only ones present at the first transfer, gasped in horror when they saw a muddled orange light come from the many tubes. "Oh no." Ozpin muttered.

Sensing that something was wrong, Qrow grabbed Ozpin's shoulder and spun the headmaster around to face him. "What do you mean ' _oh no_ ', what's going on!?" The hunter was terrified. He had never seen the machine in use, and potentially both of his nieces were on the line.

"When we extracted Miss Rose's aura from her team mate previously, it was pink- the color of the aura. It _should_ have been pink again, but instead we are getting orange, a color belonging to _neither_ aura in Yang's body. I can only come up with one explanation, and I do not like it." Falling silent, Ozpin's train of thought turned to their current situation. Qrow looked up in equal parts worry and confusion as the light from Yang's pod receded into Ruby's.

When it was done, Ozpin pressed a key, and Ruby's pod opened. Yang's remained shut, keeping her body in stasis. Gently lifting the red-haired huntress from where she laid, Goodwitch set her on the ground and began providing first aid for the wound on her side.

Soon, silver eyes opened and took in the world around them. Ruby sat up, cringing from the pain, and saw everyone staring at her morosely. "What?"

She was shocked out of her tired state when a voice resonated within her mind. _"Ruby… what happened? Where are we?"_

"Y- Yang?"

* * *

General Lupen waited by the communications terminal in his headquarters. He was rapping his fingers against the metal, anxiously awaiting the call that would confirm the capture or elimination of Yang Xiao Long. He had redeployed hundreds of troops, as well as an additional two Kill Squads, all in the name of preventing the enemy from getting their hands on one girl.

It would have seemed silly, if his life weren't on the line.

Unfortunately for the leader of the White Fang, that call would never come. Instead, he received one claiming that most of his Kill Squads had been wiped out, and the few survivors of G claiming that their target and one other huntress had been critically _wounded_ , though were still evacuated- whether or not they died was completely unknown.

Yet the moment the door behind him slid open, Lupen knew deep down that Salem had the answer, and that is was not the one either had hoped for.

"General Lupen," the Grimm queen said in a condescending tone, "you were an excellent pawn of mine, but you don't know your foe, nor do you realize when to submit and simply follow orders." In a flash, the woman turned toward him and fired a beam of dark energy from her palm. The blast caught him in the chest and sent him flying into the wall, from there he crumpled to the ground, clutching at his smoking chest.

"When I first came to you, I spared your life for one reason- you didn't know better. You killed Cinder thinking you saw an opportunity to end the now unnecessary partnership, you did not know she was a pawn herself, nor did you see the full scope of your actions. I needed an ally, and you were in my debt."

Now standing before him, the pale-skinned woman glared down at the injured man. "But _this_ was not the same. You disobeyed my order, failing the single job I gave you- kill Yang Xiao Long. Instead, you decided in a moment of pure _genius_ , that you could keep her secure, and only kill her as a last resort."

Lupen felt his body rise from the ground, and his lungs unable to draw breath. He struggled helplessly, clutching at his throat, desperate for air. "You were _wrong_."

Throwing him across the room again, Salem's form grew darker, more imposing. Her eyes glowed blood red, and her legs vanished in a black fog that rolled off her. "You will repay this failure in _servitude_." With that, the witch opened her hand, palm upward, and smiled cruelly as some of the fog rose into her palm and formed a small black and white insect.

Lupen tried to stand, only to be bound in place by dark tendrils of energy. Unable to move any more than squirming, the once-proud faunus was unable to escape the small Grimm skittering toward him along the floor. He saw it climb onto his chest, then writhed in agony as he felt the bug _burrow_ into him.

The pain was excruciating, but was far from the worst to come. His skin felt as if it had been set ablaze as it darkened to pitch black, his fingernails seemed like they were being pulled out as they grew into long, sharp claws.

Muscle tore and bones shifted as his body changed shape. His wolf ears grew larger, his toenails became claws, and a mask of Grimm bone covered his face, giving him the visage of beowolf, though his body remained more humanoid.

"I have given you the power to turn those around you into Grimm. I have been waiting for the proper time to bring my pets back, and your petty civil war has provided the perfect opportunity." Salem stared out the window at the ground below. Located midway between Vacuo and Vale, the White Fang base was busy with activity. Soldiers stood watch on the walls, other carried boxes full of supplies, some trained with their guns and swords. ' _They are all unaware of the fate that awaits them._ ' Salem thought with a malicious grin.

The whole time, Lupen writhed in agony- his groans of pain slowly become feral growls. "In the shadow of your little squabble, darkness will grow. Your fighting will distract the world from its spread. The hatred between both sides will feed it. You will raise an army in my stead, and when I return from correcting your mistake, I will use it to destroy the last hold-outs of your once formidable civilizations. You have been the architect of your entire world's destruction- you set the war in motion, you have crippled any defenses against my hordes and paved the way for their return. Now, you will be the one to summon my legions of darkness, and when they rise, not even Ozpin will be able to save your kind."

A guttural noise that was not quite human is all the response that she received. "I have three particular… _assets_ … for you to acquire for me. Two will join you willingly, the third will be somewhat.. less cooperative. Once you have them, there will be nothing the hunters can do to stop me."

Looking down at a pair of White Fang grunts who had taken a seat to have a drink, joking and laughing with each other during their break. "But first things first, you will need to start somewhere with the creation of my army. I think the soldiers in this very base will do just fine. Slaughter them all, leave none to warn about my children's return." The new Grimm of hers growled and stalked out of the room, searching for his first victim.

Within ten minutes, Salem watched a tide of black figures pour out of the building and descent upon the unsuspecting faunus outside. There was screaming and gunfire for a short while, and then silence. Opening a portal back to her realm, Salem smiled evilly as she thought of Ozpin.

"This truly is the end, my old enemy… I only regret that you will not live to see your world burn."

* * *

 **I lied, I'm not sorry.**


	18. Chapter 18

**[HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY HOLLOW FRAGMENTS] Well, almost, but I didn't get to upload yesterday on the actual anniversary, but it's here now!**

 **What do you call an author who doesn't update enough? Feel free to leave it in your review, I'm sure I deserve worse.**

 **Sorry about the super long wait, especially given what the previous chapter was, but I've been really busy- and with more than life. See, I had a _bunch_ of chapters planned out when I started this, and that's what I've been basing it off since then. However, after the last chapter, I decided that I needed to redo a bunch, remove some, and then create a ton more so I wasn't left trying to come up with chapters on the spot.**

 **After that I thought, "hey, I might as well take the time to decide which characters I'm bringing back and what will happen to them. Not that any of it's final, up until about chapter 15, I planned to KILL Yang, but decided against it to keep RWBY together for now. Before you start thinking every one's safe and I've gone soft, I've planned the death of at least 18 characters, so they may not be as safe as you think.**

 **Then, about two weeks ago, I finally got back to writing. I just about finished the chapter, then decided I hated it and completely redid it. So yeah, when you also factor in work on my other story and all my schoolwork, I've been busy as fuck.**

 **Thank you for sticking with my for one year guys, let's keep it going!**

* * *

(Chapter 18)

It had taken only seconds for Ruby to understand what had taken place- what had happened to her and Yang. She had immediately shot to her feet, then rushed to leave the vault; traveling to the surface to be alone.

That was hours ago.

She had traveled to the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest, and was seated with her legs hanging over the side. It seemed like an eternity ago she had been launched off these same cliffs to begin her path to the life of a huntress. She had discovered her duality, left her old life behind with the exception of her team, she had admitted her feelings to the woman she loved, and gone on crazy adventures all over Remnant with them.

' _Dust, I miss her.'_ It had been five long years thinking that Weiss was dead, and when Hunter's quest lead to the revelation they were still alive, Ruby had felt that she had a purpose for the first time since that fateful day.

It gave her hope.

Now, though, that warm feeling had been torn from her. Ruby was distraught, her spirit left feeling crushed. Ruby had been expecting a fight against the old White Fang, but this was something new- something far more difficult. She thought she would be able to reunite her friends and things could go back to the way they used to be, but Yang's injury had shattered that dream.

The blonde's body lived on in stasis, but her injuries were too severe to remove her until they had a surgeon with the necessary equipment to operate on her when she is released. Until then, not only was Yang unable to return to her body, lest it die and her aura die with it, but Ruby would be unable to use the machine to awaken Weiss.

It took her sister's near-death to realize that this wasn't going to be easy. She couldn't guarantee her plans' success, and acting on them placed all of her friends in grave danger.

Hunter lived in a cottage far from the White Fang, Marvin lived safely with Ozpin in the country, she had been long forgotten about in her forest. Even her teammates were safer than they were now- lying in a coma may not be glamorous, but at least she knew they were safe. Now, though, each and every one of them had a target painted on their back.

What if Captain Harris and his wife are discovered associating with Glynda's family? There wasn't much they could do to protect the humans, and they would likely pay for the crime as well. Marvin had been shot in the field, Hunter had been seconds from death at the airbase, Ruby herself had nearly died multiple times.

With every attack, the White Fang learned about their tactics, considered them a greater threat, and responded appropriately.

" _I'm sorry."_

Ruby shivered at the voice reverberating within her head. It took her a moment to get over the strange feeling, and another to process what Yang had said. " _You're_ sorry? For what?"

" _I left you alone. I've been looking through your memories, I've seen everything you went through after you lost us. Now you tried to save me, and because of what happened you're blaming yourself. It's not fair to you."_

Trying not to think about the nightmarish scenario of a Yang who has access to all her memories and can't be escaped, Ruby felt like she'd been punched in the gut. ' _Yang is all but killed, and here she is apologizing and comforting me. I'm a terrible sister._ '

" _Ruby, don't think like that, it's not your fault. If I had to spend my whole life in a coma, then I'd rather be dead. And besides, it's not like I'm really gone- you still have a chance to save me, so what are you so upset about? Get out there and find me a doctor, alright? Just stop feeling so bad for yourself."_

Typical Yang, can't let anyone go around feeling bad without jumping in and trying to cheer them up. She was like a never-ending fountain of positivity. _"And besides, if worst comes to worst, this is still probably better than actually being dead."_

Ruby ran a hair through her hair, letting out a tired sigh. Better than dead was a pretty low bar to clear, and she wasn't so sure Blake would agree that it's fine her girlfriend now only exists inside Ruby's head.

The cloaked huntress turned around as she heard movement behind her- the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves. Out from the forest stepped Scruff, evidently having run all the way from Vale. The large dog plopped down next to the girl and nuzzled into her warmth.

" _See? You've got Scruff on your side, and nothing can kill him! Now go on back there, and let's get a move-on. I don't want to keep Blake-y waiting!"_

Rolling her eyes, the red-haired woman stood up from her spot, and began the trek back to Beacon Academy with Scruff in tow.

* * *

Ruby entered the elevator and descended to the vault. The whole time, the eerie feeling that she was not alone hung over her head. _'Then again, I suppose I'm not alone ever since Yang got stuck with me. That's probably it.'_

When the elevator doors slid open, a hush fell across the entrance to the vault where the group had laid out their sleeping pads and supplies. All eyes turned to Ruby, with the exception of Blake who kept track of Scruff at all times. He had been a puppy once, and she cared about Yang enough to go along with it; but now he was the size of a truck and was still very much a dog.

Dogs were not to be trusted.

After a tense silence, Ruby spoke up. "We need to head to Atlas as soon as possible. We need to find a surgeon. If we're going to find any willing to help us, they'd probably be up there. Plus, we can keep an eye out for wherever Weiss may be at the same time."

"She's right," Qrow agreed, "every second spent here is one that Yang doesn't have. We need to eat and rest up, but first thing tomorrow we head for Atlas."

' _Go get 'em sis! I know you can do it!_ '

"Thanks, Yang." Ruby smiled sadly, it hurt her to know that Yang was stuck like this, but she took comfort in the fact that she could still make it right. She settled in to get some sleep, and closed her eyes before a question formed in her mind.

' _Hey, Yang, what'll you be doing while I sleep?_ '

" _I don't know, probably look through more of these memories. Not much else to do, and there's a lot of potential blackmail here."_ Well, at least she's acting like herself. Still, her picking through Ruby's memories can't end well, but there wasn't much the scythe-wielder could do about it.

"Good night, Yang."

* * *

Ruby awoke to quiet rustling coming from nearby. She cracked a single eye open, letting her vision adjust to the dark. When she could see, her gaze swept across the room, landing on a small figure rummaging through the group's food supplies. _"Ruby? Who is that? What are they doing?"_

' _Don't worry, Yang, I'm going to find out._ ' With as little movement as possible, Ruby's hand crept along the floor as she reached for Crescent Rose. Ruby's fingers wrapped around cold metal, and she slowly dragged it closer to her body. When it was a reasonable distance away, she placed her finger on the latch that would extend her weapon into its full-sized form.

The almost inaudible click of the trigger being depressed by the weight of her finger was enough to alert the hunched-over intruder of the impending attack. As the huntress swung her weapon in a circle ferociously, the target leaned backward –arching her back over the blade- and proceeded to flip over the attack. _"They're fast!"_

"Who are you!?" Ruby yelled at the figure. They were short, and though the room was too dark and the thief's clothing too baggy to give away their gender, the hair flowing down to their shoulders suggested they were female. The Rose's yelling had woken the rest of her companions, and the mysterious woman soon found herself beset upon from all around.

Yet she took it in stride. Ducking a blow from Blake, twirling out of Marvin's reach, hopping back to avoid bisection courtesy of Ruby's sweetheart- all done with the ease and grace that comes with a life spent honing one's skills. It wasn't until they found themselves trapped by Goodwitch's glyphs that they were finally subdued. With a wave of his hand, Ozpin relit the braziers with green flames and the group got their first eyeful of the woman.

She had a loose-fitting pair of pants, a jacket with Beacon's logo on the back worn over a white shirt, and a pair of high-heeled boots on her feet. Her hands were covered by brown gloves, and she had a backpack slung over her shoulders.

Her most striking features, however, were her multicolored eyes and hair- both pink and brown, wisps of white in her hair as well. The woman was short, thin, and pale- she looked as if she hadn't eaten in a while. "Who is she?"

Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda looked at each other with a grave expression before answering. "This is Neopolitan. She was a close ally of _Roman Torchwick_ 's." At this the girls from Team RWBY stiffened. The last time they had encountered the wisecracking criminal had been at the docks where he had nearly killed Blake and Sun.

It had only been a few weeks after that when Team RWBY first heard that Velvet had been attacked, quickly followed by Ren, all leading to their 'departure' from Beacon Academy.

"She worked for Torchwick?" Blake hissed. "What's she doing here in Beacon, and how'd she find us down here!?" The multicolored girl struggled to move, but found herself unable to escape the glyph. Once she ceased her futile attempts to get away, Glynda released her from the glyph's hold and she fell to the ground.

"Given that she has evidently been taking clothes from the dormitories, and was found searching through our belongings, I would wager that she lives here right now." Ozpin replied in that same calm voice that none of them had known to waver. Kneeling before the criminal, the headmaster looked her up and down.

"Do you still work for the White Fang?" She shook her head. "Are you alone here?" A nod. "And what happened to your employer, Roman Torchwick?" Neopolitan dragged her index finger across her neck, nobody in the room missing the scar she bore in nearly the same place. "The White Fang decided you were no longer of use, I assume?" Another nod, accompanied by her eyes watering up at the memory.

Ozpin stood and offered a hand to her. "Then it would seem we have a common enemy." Neo refused his hand and stood up by herself. Stepping back she eyed the man suspiciously, unsure why he expected her to join him, or why he trusted her for that matter.

"I have no illusion that you will change your ways, or that you can ever hope to make amends for all the lives lost because of your actions. However, I do expect that you want revenge, and we are in no position to be turning away potential allies. Team JNPR believed you to be untouchable when they were assigned to scout Mountain Glenn, someone with those skills would be of great value in a fight against the White Fang- even more so if they possess the skills of an assassin, one with knowledge of their inner workings no less."

Blake stepped forward, not having lowered her sword once. "Professor, you can't be serious! She worked for _Torchwick!_ How can you think she's trustworthy!? She'll stab us in the back then steal everything we have!"

Gently placing his hand on the back of her sword, he pushed the blade down toward the floor. "She could have done that already, Miss Belladonna, she chose not to. She planned to steal from us so that she may survive- something you can hardly blame her for. Should she join us, we can help provide for her in return for assistance on our missions. Also take into account that she has nowhere else to go and nobody to give her orders, she is free to make up her own mind. Neopolitan may not be a good person, but she has done us no harm, stands to benefit from an alliance, and has nothing left to lose from what I can tell."

He disguised it as an explanation to Blake, but Qrow and Glynda it was obviously an attempt to further persuade Neo. He kept returning to the same points, restating important parts- he was making a sale, pitching an idea to a customer.

Even when facing an ex-criminal who helped bring the kingdoms to their knees, Ozpin was always giving out second chances and making allies and deals. _'Some things never change.'_ Glynda supposed.

"So what do you say, Neopolitan? Do we have an agreement?"

The silent girl stared at him cautiously, weighing her options. Finally, after much deliberation, she nodded.

"Welcome to the team. Gather anything you want to bring with you, you're coming with us to Atlas."

* * *

The engines of the Nevermore screamed as it took off, Beacon falling behind it as the group set their course for Atlas. The eyes of the passengers were fixed on Neo, some having the decency to look away when she glanced their way. Finally, Hunter had to break the uncomfortable silence.

"So… any particular reason why you guys don't like each other? I mean, it sounds to me like you've never met before."

Blake responded without taking her eyes off the girl. "Her boss was a criminal we had to fight once. He joined the White Fang, led them in crime sprees, and turned the people I once thought of as friends into terrorists. He's one of the reasons the kingdoms fell, and you wonder why we don't trust him?"

Hunter put his hands up defensively. "Hey, I didn't know. Besides, weren't you guys some of the most wanted people in the world for a while?" Ruby glared at him.

"It wasn't our fault! We didn't do anything wrong!" She protested. Yang, unhelpfully shared her opinion on the matter. _"Well, that's not completely true…. I mean, we did kill a LOT of soldiers, police officers, a few hunters, citizens who tried to arrest us… didn't you crash an attack helicopter into Vale's commercial district a few days after I release a bunch of Grimm near Beacon?"_

"Shut up, Yang."

Blake finally took her eyes off Neo and looked at Ruby. "What did she say?" It hurt Ruby just to be around Blake, right now. Sure she felt bad that Yang had gotten hurt, but Yang kept arguing it wasn't her fault. Yang couldn't make an argument against the pity Ruby felt for the faunus, however.

The woman Blake loved was trapped in Ruby's head. Yang's alive, and still with them, but only Ruby could hear her voice. Only Ruby really felt like she was with them. It devastated Blake that no matter how they looked at it, she could only hear her girlfriend's words second-hand.

Ruby couldn't pass everything Yang said on, otherwise she'd never be able to stop talking between what the both of them 'need' to say, but Blake was desperate to hear Yang again. To hear her voice, her laugh, even those Dust-forsaken puns she never stopped making. She missed everything about that blonde idiot, and until they could mend her wounds, she'd have to go on without her.

To indulge Blake, Ruby would more or less have to concede to Hunter in their little argument, but that didn't really matter. "Yang was just reminding me _very helpfully_ that what I said wasn't quite true. She made the _excellent_ point that we did in fact hurt quite a few people. _Thank you for that, by the way._ "

Even if she heard it from Ruby, Blake smiled knowing that Yang was still making jokes and acting like the same big oaf she'd fallen in love with. "Thanks for keeping your sister in check, Yang. I promise we'll get you back soon."

Ruby seemed to have a conversation with herself for a couple moments before relaying what Yang said. "She says she loves you too, 'kitten'… and that she can't wait to be able to use her body again to- _Yang I'm not saying that! I don't care if it's supposed to be coming from you, I'm not doing it! Eww, Yang, stop it, stop it!_ "

* * *

 **And there we go! On our way to Atlas finally. If anyone has advice about how to write characters in relationships, I could use it. I've never done that before, and as you can probably tell, I'm not particularly good. Maybe it's because I have the romantic sense of a particularly dull rock, or because I'm less social than a mute with social anxiety disorder, but I'm not great at writing characters in love.**

 **So yeah, since Whiterose and Bumblebee will be happening relatively soon, I could use some help with that. How much do you want to see that in comparison with the advancement of the story, how should I do it, when should we invade Ireland? Lots of questions, and I need some answers from you guys!**

 **Once again, thanks for one year! Follow, favorite, and review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**If you care about the story, please read end ANs. That is all here.**

* * *

(Chapter 19)

Atlas was warmer than Ruby had expected. Well, Solitas, technically. The kingdom of Atlas was no more, but the continent on which it had been founded was very much the same place it had always been. She vaguely remembered hearing that it was a much more pleasant place in summer than the rest of the year, but it was still a surprise to see such a beautiful place. She had always held an image of cloudy skies, thick with the smog coming from its many factories, giving the layer of snow a dark grey hue.

In typical Atlesian fashion, everything had been done as efficiently as possible. Large areas of the continent were found to be lacking in natural resources worth collecting, and had therefore been left largely untouched. They had traded for food, because the climate killed most crops known to man, but the plant life there had adapted to the temperatures.

While the people of Mantle couldn't eat the vegetation, the animals there were perfectly happy to. With so many hibernating or in small numbers during the winter, trade was the only consistent source of food, and they soon became reliant on it. With no reason to hunt the animals, and no reason to develop the land, most of Solitas was a beautiful place in the warmer months.

Vast expanses of green trees, bushes and grasses was interrupted only by patches of orange, yellow, or purple flowers. The whole scene surrounded a lake so calm and pristine, Ruby could see an almost perfect reflection of the mountains that served as this valley's backdrop, and the clear blue sky that hung above it all.

"Wow…." Hunter marveled at the landscape before him. He'd been born in a city south of Vale, originally, and spent much of his life there. It hadn't been until rising tensions began sparking violence that he accepted his mother's invitation to join her for some time out in the country. She got to see her son again, he got away from a dangerous situation; it was a win-win. They had believed he would go back once everything settled down, but of course, it hadn't.

When the real fighting broke out, and it began spreading across Remnant, they decided it would be best to take a… vacation. The pair went out to an old cottage Hunter's parents had lived in early in their marriage- it was a quiet place, too far out of the way for their needs originally, but now it made an excellent shelter.

Hunter could only hope it had remained unnoticed since he'd left on this crazy adventure. He had no way to know how his last surviving family member was doing, and she had no way to know about him. It worried him, sometimes, that he might return having helped make the world a safer place, only to find his mother never lived to see it; but he couldn't let that distract him.

Despite all his moving around, though, he'd never seen anything like this. It wasn't just the plants and animals he'd unique to Solitas, but it was the little things you wouldn't think about that really surprised him. How the air felt cleaner, how the place wasn't silent, but alive with bird calls and running water, how he could see for miles with nothing blocking his view.

The feeling just wasn't something he could describe, but he knew that he would never be able to match it back home.

"It is quite something, isn't it?" Ozpin remarked. Snapped out of his stupor, Hunter noticed he had not been alone. Ruby, Blake, and Marvin had all been standing in slack-jawed awe at the view as well. "Solitas's beauty is rarely spoken of in school- most believe the history and politics of its people to be of greater importance. I often find those who have witnessed it firsthand disagree." He mused.

"It's amazing." Ruby agreed, "I wonder if Weiss would want to live out here? I wish I could ask her, we never really got to talk about things like this. We were all so close to settling down in Haven, but that was really because it was the only place that would accept us. So much has changed now, though…."

 _"I think she'd like it, Rubes."_ Yang responded, _"But what about me and Kitten? You know she's not a fan of the cold, I don't think you'd be seeing us in winter much."_

"Yes, yes, pretty flowers are nice and all, but we've got a job to do." Qrow grumbled from behind them. "We don't know anything about Ice Princess's whereabouts, so our first job is to find out who does. And I get the feeling that outside of this group, nobody outside of this group wants to find her more badly than the White Fang- if anyone's got a clue where she is, they probably do."

Glynda nodded. "Which is exactly why time is of the essence. If our best chance of finding Miss Schnee are the very people we cannot allow to reach her first, it's critical that we get moving as quickly as possible."

She was right, of course. The fact that the White Fang was likely closest to finding Weiss meant that their group had a time limit placed on reaching her. Having seen the measures taken to keep Yang from them, there was little doubt that the White Fang would kill Weiss on the spot. They wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Well," Marvin said sarcastically, "sounds easy enough to me. All we have to do is find some White Fang soldiers, find out where we can access their most classified information, break in and steal it, use it to locate someone they couldn't find after years of searching, retrieve them from people who probably aren't just going to hand her over, and sneak her back over to an entirely different continent."

"That pessimism's not gonna help a whole lot, but he's right. This is definitely one of those 'easier said than done' situations." Qrow said. "If it was up to me, I'd say the time for stealth is coming to an end. Much as I like to do things quietly, it'd be way faster just to head to the White Fang's regional headquarters and go in guns blazing."

"Are you insane, Qrow?" Goodwitch exclaimed. "This is still a military base. Regardless of how complacent or undisciplined they may have become since Atlas fell, the White Fang is a force to be reckoned with now. We have to take things slowly, we can't afford to lose what little we have left by running in and doing something stupid. What we should do is carefully investigate by observing their operations here before determining what our course of action should be. This isn't some ragtag group of thugs- their soldiers have training, military-grade weapons and hardware, and teams designed to fight people like us!"

"And we have hunters, huntresses, an assassin, some Grimm-dog thing, an experimental military jet, and _a fucking wizard!_ " He retorted, unimpressed.

"What we don't have, Glynda, is time. Now if we can't hold our own against those guys long enough to get into their computer system, nobody can! Besides, how long do you think we can keep this cloak and dagger stuff up anyways? There are eight of us, not including the 'dog', and if everything goes to plan, Weiss and Yang would make ten! On top of that, our base of operations is within sight of a major White Fang city we just stirred up, and according to Hunter, you've been using the home of one of Ozpin's friends as a day-care for your family and anyone else who can't fight the White Fang."

Standing inches from her, Qrow continued. "We can't stay in the shadows forever. How many civilians can we hide at some guy's house? How long can we use Beacon before we're seen? When will small raids stop being enough, and actual fighting is needed to bring the White Fang down?" The two stared into each other's eyes, not backing down.

"Well… could we do both?"

Everyone slowly turned to stare at Hunter. "Do… both?" Qrow repeated disbelievingly. "Do you mean to tell me you've got an idea on how we can simultaneously be loud and sneaky? What, should we charge them head-on using our inside voices?"

"No, I meant: why can't we just head straight for their main base, then sneak in and out without raising any alarms? You still have that virus from Vale, right? If you can get that in one of their computers, you'd have access to their whole database. Then just download the files you want and go back the way you came in. So long as nobody sees you, nobody's in any danger, and we save a lot of time."

Qrow crossed his arms. "And how are you so sure we'd actually be able to pull a crazy heist like that off?"

"Well," Hunter replied with a grin, "we have hunters, huntresses, an assassin, lots of experience, a super virus, and _'a fucking wizard'_."

* * *

It was surprisingly difficult to find the White Fang's base of operations in Atlas. Considering the scope of their activity in the region, and their complacency as the dominant power in the world, the group had thought locating the facility would be a relatively simple task- it had been easy for them everywhere else they went.

Fortunately, with a little help from Scruff's exceptional sense of smell, the team had half the equation. After that, all they needed was a little help from the White Fang itself. As soon as they spotted a convoy, Ruby set Scruff on their trail. The pair followed the trucks back to their base, then returned to the rest of the team with its location. A quick flight to a nearby clearing, and the group was ready to scope it out.

The building was tall and gray, the few, small windows present were tinted black to prevent others from seeing in. The foliage and landscape around it had been flattened, a large grouping of military vehicles surrounded by an electric fence in their place. It had only one entrance, and that was the main blast door located on the front face of the headquarters. The entire place was surrounded by mounted guns, and patrols made their rounds in short intervals.

All-in-all, it was impressive. The former hunters and huntresses could easily deal a great amount of damage to the compound; but to get inside, reach their archives, extract the desired information, then escape- their reinforcements would arrive long before that happened, and those trapped inside would be overwhelmed.

Which is what made it so unfortunate they couldn't just go blow the whole place up, as per Yang's only semi-serious suggestion.

 _"Can you at least blow it up afterwards? Please!? I haven't been able to break anything in a long time, it's starting to get to me, Rubes!"_

Ruby just rolled her eyes. Of course, even as a voice in someone else's head, Yang would be dying to cause some property damage. It really made Ruby wonder just how many of Yang's brawls as a child "the other guy" had really been the one to start, and how many the blonde had just begun out of boredom.

 _"Yeah, like, almost all of them. Did you really believe I was innocent all this time, though? That's so sweet of you!"_

Ruby sighed. Though she didn't say a word, everyone present knew that as the "Dust damn it, Yang" sigh. It grew increasingly frequent as the brawler became used to her current situation. Shaking off her annoyance at still being treated like a child by her sister from time to time, Ruby addressed the whole party.

"Okay, we need to get inside without setting off the alarm. That means we're going to have to get creative. The best solution that comes to mind would be creating a hole in the wall with Roll's semblance." Hunter raised his hand. "Of for the love of- Hunter, this isn't like school, you don't need to raise your hand to talk."

"Uh, right… sorry. What I wanted to ask was: wouldn't one of their patrols notice a person-sized hole in the wall? Then they'd sound the alarm and it wouldn't have done any good."

"True, which is why it isn't going to be at ground level. Neopolitan's going to take Roll and Blake up with her teleportation, and Uncle Qrow will just fly up himself. They'll all land on that ledge and make the hole there." She said gesturing toward a ledge jutting out slightly. It seemed to be placed to grant access to some electrical panels, but it would do just as well for a landing pad.

They quickly discussed the minor roles played by everyone not on the infiltration team. Hunter would, as always, sit in the Nevermore. He would complain about always being left behind, but he realized that it would mean he'd need to fight people even further above his skill level, and quickly decided that he liked keeping his limbs attached. That was made slightly less likely, as he was also assigned to keep an eye on Scruff- he didn't know why, but he got the feeling the dog wasn't a fan of him.

Ruby would be keeping watch over the building itself, making sure nobody happened to look up and notice anything out of the ordinary. Beacon's two professors, not being the most subtle in combat, would be standing guard nearby the plane to ensure no wandering scouts came across their operation.

When the plan was all laid out, it was time for the four infiltrators to depart. Marvin and Blake each grabbed one of Neo's hands and prepared for the transportation. A brief, disconcerting moment marked by the sensation of falling, and then they were on the side of the building. Shortly after, a small, black bird perched itself on the ledge. Before he changed forms, Blake couldn't help but smile. Ruby's uncle may be a veteran huntsman, but it was hard to take him seriously as a crow. _'That reminds me, I should ask him some time if they named him after they found out he could turn into a crow, or did they just get lucky?'_

Now that the team was in place, the ledge being fairly crowded now, they needed to get inside. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Marvin pressed his palm against the wall. The material quickly gave way to sand, and a hole wide enough for a person to crawl through was made. It would be hard to notice from ground level, but if anyone came across it inside the building, it would be impossible to miss. Luckily for them, they seemed to have entered a storage room, and it wasn't likely to be seen- otherwise they would have needed somebody to stay behind and keep their presence secret.

Thanks to the CCT's restrictions now that it was under the Fang's control, the infiltration team was completely cut off from their allies outside. It made their job just that much more difficult. Sneaking through the corridors, Blake was surprised at the quietness. There were almost no guards, the few they came across were silence before they even knew what hit them. Neo would place an illusion of an empty hall around them, only for it to shatter as she stabbed the guard through it. Blake, Qrow, and Marvin were all stealthy in their own right, but none of them could hope to ambush soldiers like the assassin.

The four of them found the server room quickly. It was centrally located, and had four entrances, one on each side. The main terminal was in the middle, screens, keyboards, and various ports located all around a single tower that surrounded wires to all of the computers in the room. Each door had a direct line of sight toward that central terminal, meaning that if any guards patrolled this floor, one glance in the wrong direction would completely expose the four.

Blake connected her scroll to the computer, and allowed the virus to begin spreading throughout the system. While it did, each member kept watch over a doorway, and silently prayed that all went according to plan.

* * *

 _"Ruby, they're fine, don't worry about it."_

Ruby did not stop worrying.

 _"Look, if something had gone wrong, they would have sounded the alarm, right? It's not like the guards can take all four of them on without backup. So long as they don't call for it, then they haven't been spotted yet."_

Ruby sighed. Yang was right, but she couldn't help but feel like it was going too easily. "Yang, if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: 'If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don't know what the hell is going on.'"

 _"You know, you were a lot more fun when the worst possibility in your mind was a lack of cookies."_

"Yeah, I liked that me too…." The two of them slipped into an uncomfortable silence. No matter how much Yang tried to lighten the mood, there was always tension between the two. Yang had been brought back to a world where her sister was deeply broken, and was forced to live in her head, feeling everything she did, hearing all of her thoughts- each second hurt as Yang was forced to know the pain her sister went through from a first-person perspective.

Ruby, on the other hand, had the opposite problem. Yang had been practically dead for years, was reawakened to learn her body was dying and she was trapped in someone else's mind, and yet she didn't seem to skip a beat. Within an hour of her return, the older sister was back to her old self and kept up a positive attitude. How was it that she could handle all of this so easily, but Ruby was still hurting on such a deep level? It made her feel weak, hopeless.

Despite the voice in the back of her thoughts reminding her the problem lay in her very soul, and that they had a plan to fix it, Ruby couldn't help but wonder if she would ever get better.

The silence was broken rather abruptly when a shrill noise pierced the air. The alarm! The huntress shot forth from her place in the trees to look out over the compound. A column of smoke rose from somewhere around the front entrance, though she couldn't see where.

Ruby heard a rustling behind her as professors Ozpin and Glynda rush to her side. "How were they spotted?" the woman asked.

"I don't think they were," the headmaster replied as an armored vehicle that had been around the corner was flung into view, "I think the White Fang may have other guests." They needed a plan of action, and Ruby came up with one quickly.

Glynda went back to the Nevermore to make sure it was ready for a hasty retreat if need be. Ozpin decided he would follow Blake and the others and see if they needed backup, promptly launching himself toward their point of entrance.

Ruby, of course, had the fun job of checking around the front of the building to find out what exactly had just tossed a 12 ton armored personnel carrier across the base like a frisbee. _'Some days I think the world just has it out for me.'_

* * *

When the siren rang out through the building, Blake almost fell to her knees. She clutched at the cat ears on top of her head, willing them to block out the painful noise. She pressed them against her head as best she could, and returned to the task at hand. The virus had gained access to the system, and was now using it to unlock the encryptions placed on their most sensitive files.

All members of the infiltration team were deeply confused as to how they'd been found out, but it mattered little in the end. Qrow, Marvin, and Neo took up positions around Blake and kept watch. A group of soldiers rushed by one entrance, and it was only after Marvin fired that he realized they hadn't even been looking their way.

When one of their own fell down in a spray of blood, the squad turned in time to see the intruders opening fire on them. Ducking out of the line of fire, the White Fang started to surround the four. Circling around to take up positions by each of the entrances, the infiltrators quickly found themselves under fire from all sides.

Blake found herself blindly firing behind her to suppress the gunners at her doorway while still trying to find anything of value in the computer. Occasionally she would feel the sting of a dust round impacting against her back.

Qrow and Neo's battles were far more interesting compared to her's. The White Fang had learned the hard way that Qrow favored close quarters combat to a gunfight. He managed to tear through several of them with his sword before they were able to draw their own.

Unfortunately he faced several disadvantages. While the faunus all carried normal swords, his was unusually large which made it difficult to use in such a confined area. They also far outnumbered him, and his mobility was severely hindered because he couldn't stray too far from the entrance- Qrow couldn't allow any soldiers to slip by him into the room.

Neo, in contrast, seemed to be having the time of her life. She had pulled out a cane Blake recognized as Roman's and launched a volley of explosive rounds at the White Fang, all while using her parasol as a shield. When one foolish faunus though she could get in close and hide from the fire behind Neo's own parasol, the diminutive girl simply pressed a button on the handle- a blade extended from the tip and skewered the soldier instantly. The button was pressed again, and the body fell to the floor, evidently no longer held up by the now-retracted blade.

Neo grinned savagely, wild eyes flitting across the many White Fang in the room. The people who had destroyed the world as she knew it, the people who forced her to take refuge in a dilapidated huntsman academy, the people who killed Roman. Insane grin still adorning her face, the tri-colored assassin removed the sword from its sheath, dropping the parasol cover to the floor. Wielding Roman's cane in one hand and her sword in the other, Neo lunged toward the faunus in a frenzy.

Blake turned her attention away from the carnage and back to the computer. The virus had finally gotten her into their database, and upon searching though the files listed, she found several of interest.

"High Value Targets, Central Command Disappearance, Grimm, Schnees."

Four computer files, that's all they risked so much for, but Blake knew that within each lay information that could cause untold damage to the organization. She didn't know what the first two were about, not really. Their names gave her a vague idea of what they were about, but what was actually contained within them….

If the White Fang classified these all of equal importance, Blake imagined their group would likely feel the same. She had a sinking feeling they wouldn't all be together for long.

* * *

 **Three things to cover, then you can go:**

 **1) Lots of reasons this was so late. Many can't be changed, but you can help by reviewing. Reviews fuel me and I got _1_ last chapter, that made writing hard.**

 **2) Fanfic isn't dead, and I refuse to let it die. I promised to finish this, and I will do it right! Even if time between updates is slow, I will complete this.**

 **3) In the interest of keeping myself writing in general, I'll have to abandon my 2 story limit and alternating updates. I'll write what I want, when I want. Hopefully that keeps me going, and lets me get out some of the ideas that have been distracting me so much.**

 **So yes. PLEASE REVIEW! That can make a world of difference, and they mean so much to me (especially those that are well thought out or share your opinions and theories). Follow, favorite, share this with people, whatever. Just know that the more I interact with you readers, the more I want to get back to writing.**

 **You all have the patience of angels, thank you.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Well, that took a while. I got the first third done in a week, and the last third was cranked out in about 3 hours. The middle... ugh. That took me _forever_ to get through. And you know what, I'm still not really happy with it. Still, I had to get this out before you guys started going into retirement, so here it is.**

 **I'm going to be honest with you guys, I hate writing. Not this specifically, just writing. And I hated doing it long before I started fanfiction, so I genuinely have no idea what possessed me to be an author here. When I started writing this stuff, though, I honestly enjoyed it. For a while now, most of it has been more of a chore than fun, but the ending to this was actually enjoyable. For the first time in a while, I liked what I was doing, and I hope that sets a trend for the rest of this.**

 **Now don't worry about me giving up on any of my stories. One of the things I hate most is going back on a promise I intended to keep (I lie to people too, so I can't say _all_ promises), and I'm very hard on myself when I do because I also detest hypocrites! So, yes, if I give up any of these it'll be bothering me a hell of a lot longer than you'll remember the fic existed. I don't plan to let that happen.**

 **Anyway, it's a little shorter than some previous ones, I believe, but the plot is picking up and I can't wait to reach the point where I can start killing people off left and right!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

(Chapter 20)

The White Fang were getting smarter, though that didn't say much. They'd seen their comrades get cut down by the intruders, and knew better than to take them lightly. That said, they couldn't let them get away with their attack, so they chose to hold position around the server room, and steadily grew in numbers as more and more arrived. Blake was just finishing the file transfer when they decided to make their push.

Yanking out the thumb drive, the cat faunus shouted to her allies that it was time to leave. While three of the White Fang groups charged in only to find an empty room, the last one's cries for assistance echoed through the long hallways. Sloppily charging through their lines, rather than taking the time to eliminate them all, the infiltration group made their way to a nearby elevator.

Blake hit the call button, and all four of them prepared to hold out against any pursuers. The team prepared a hasty firing line, Neo opened her parasol for cover, and they waited. Though the enemy was still regrouping and weighing their options, Blake didn't drop her guard for a moment- so when a startled gasp came from the now-opening elevator, she whipped around with her pistol at the ready.

The moment she looked in their magenta eyes, she froze in shock. "Oh my dust, is that really you?"

* * *

" _Maybe it's some kind of massive Grimm!"_

Ruby sighed. _'No, Yang, there are almost no Grimm left, I really doubt one that big managed to hide.'_ She'd been carefully trying to get a look at whatever was attacking the White Fang from the main entrance. Yang had used every second to come up with increasingly strange or terrifying possibilities.

Before her sister could move on to the realm of bad science fiction ideas, Ruby used her semblance to dash against the main building's wall. The smooth surface of its exterior pressed against her back as she edged her way toward the corner. When she finally made it there, she inhaled deeply, then peeked around the side.

She was met with a field of destruction. Burning vehicles and White Fang bodies littered the area. The closest squad was firing at something in front of them, but their bodies blacked the actual target. That was, however, until one of them cried out "scatter!" and they all dove to the ground. A woman with long, orange hair stood in the distance. She was clad in a white t-shirt, dark blue shorts, and pink running shoes, all of which had singe marks and dirt stains on them. Her turquoise eyes were lit up gleefully as she fired a bulky grey weapon at the formation of soldiers.

" _Is that- "_

The ground around the squadron erupted in pink explosions. "Yep. That's Nora." six of the fleeing White Fang hopped into a truck, and beelined for the main gate in their getaway vehicle. In response, Nora positioned herself between them and the exit, and smiled menacingly. Magnhild shifted into its massive war hammer form, and its wielder brought it back as the White Fang vehicle desperately tried to swerve out of her way. With a joyful "batter up!", Nora slammed her weapon into it, sending the whole thing flying across the compound. It bounced twice, flipping over and over as is hurdled away from her, before suddenly halting.

' _Uh…. What?'_ Ruby thought. The whole truck floated a few feet off the ground, then suddenly dropped straight down as a voice called from behind it. "Watch what you're doing, Nora."

"Heh, sorry Pyr!"

Sure enough, the red-haired woman stepped out from behind the destroyed vehicle. She casually turned her head toward the hammer-wielder, a look of annoyance on her face. She wore a dark red coat over a yellow T-shirt, and brown pants. Across her back and at her hips were a variety of sheaths, all clearly from different places. Some were brown leather with gold bands, others sported designs in the fabric that covered them, some were simple loops that the weapon would hang from. _'Where did she get all of those?'_ Ruby wondered.

As she strode from the wreck, the half dozen soldiers clambered out, still disoriented from the crash. Pyrrha turned her head when she heard their groaning, and the White Fang hastily reached for their swords. The six of them took up a variety of stances, and stood their ground.

The Mistralian woman raised her right hand, as if waving them off, and pulled her arm back against her body. An unseen force yanked the weapons from their hands, and sent them to lazily circle about the huntress. The extremists fled in panic, but Pyrrha shot her hand forward and returned the weapons to their owners.

" _Holy shit…."_ Was all Yang could think of.

"Yeah, I'm with you. What happened to her?" Although the girl was a fair distance away, Pyrrha's head turned when Ruby spoke. The redhead pulled back around the corner, and shuffled a few feet back. As she did so, one of the faunus's sabers flew past the corner. "That was too-" a second one broke through the stone building, having imbedded itself through the wall, "close…."

" _Think it's time to let 'em know who we are, sis?"_ Yang asked.

Ruby nodded. "I'd rather not get killed by a friend, if I can avoid it." She leapt out of cover, yanked down her hood. "Wait! Pyrrha, Nora, stop!" The two huntresses looked ready to kill her, but at the sound of their names, they paused.

"Why do you know our names?" The valkyrie asked suspiciously. "Who are you?" Ruby stiffened. They didn't recognize her. How could they not remember her? They'd been such close friends!

" _Uh, Rubes, it's a while. You kind of look… different. It's been years, your hair's longer and darker, you've grown bigger, you basically have no red left in your outfit. Oh, and your eyes have gone from 'I'm cute' to 'I'm going to kill you.'"_

' _Well, there's one thing I'd never mess with.'_ Reaching behind her slowly, making sure not to seem threatening, she called back, "Would this jog your memory?" Pulling the weapon from her back, Ruby unfurled her pride and joy to its full form.

Nora's eyes shot wide open. "Oh my Dust! Pyrrha, it's Ruby! That's her scythe, and she's got the silver eyes! I know her cape's a different color, but that's so totally her still, and I can still kind of see red in her hair! I wonder if her hair just got darker, or if she just dyed it and it's faded? Is that how it works? I wouldn't know, I never dyed my hair, would it last that long? Ren's had that pink stripe so long I don't even realize it's there. I never asked him if it's natural. Do you think it is? I mean, I've seen people with some weird hair colors, and I'm pretty sure it's natural, but it's just one part. I really like it! Do you like Ren's hair?" Turning back to her old friend, Nora continued rambling. "Oh my Dust! Ruby, I didn't mean to leave you out of the conversation!"

Ruby sighed. "Nora, it's-"

"Do _you_ like Ren's hair, Ruby? I mean, you probably haven't seen it in _forever_ , but it's still totally awesome! He grew it out, but kept the pink hair the same length, so it's sometimes hard to see! Do you think _I_ should dye my hair?"

" _Nora, enough._ " The hammer-wielder withered under Pyrrha's annoyed glare. "So, Ruby, where have you been? We haven't heard about your team in years. Last news was that you died outside the Grimm barriers." Pyrrha's voice was uncomfortably monotonous, like she didn't really care about the conversation.

"I've been on my own for a while. We tried to defend a town, and… well, it's hard to explain. I thought my team was dead, and I just went off to a cabin in the woods south of Vale. I didn't do much until recently, but I got roped into trying to bring down the White Fang. Now I've found out that I've still got a chance to save my team…." At this, Pyrrha seemed to focus on her for the first time. Her intense stare caused Ruby to trail off, but she motioned the reaper to continue.

"Well, turns out my other aura saved them, and kept them in a coma. We're up here looking for Weiss."

"And who is it you have with you?"

Ruby scrunched up her face and mentally listed the companions she came north with. "There's Ozpin and his nephew, Miss Goodwitch, Qrow – he's my uncle – a guy named Hunter, Blake, some assassin the White Fang betrayed, our dog… oh, and Yang says 'hi'."

* * *

As Blake stepped out into the sunlight, she looked around at the forms gathered in the center of the compound. Hunter had landed the jet nearby, and the rest of their group had come together by it. Mixed in, she picked out Pyrrha and Nora standing on the edge of the group as Ozpin spoke to everyone. Noticing the arrival of their infiltration team, plus Ren, he waved them over.

"Ah, Blake, I was just explaining our current situation. While they managed to set off the alarm, Pyrrha has informed me that Ren was meant to shut down their communications center to prevent reinforcements from being called in. Given that you aren't running, I imagine he was successful in his task." Ren nodded once, but stayed quiet otherwise.

"I cannot help but notice one notable absence. Pyrrha, where is Jaune?" All eyes turned to the redhead.

"He's gone."

The entire group, apart from Ren and Nora, waited for her to continue- she did not. The silence quickly became unbearable, most shuffling awkwardly and looking at the ground. "Well, then I suppose we should focus on the task at hand. Miss Belladonna, the flash drive, if you would." Taking the drive from her hand, he plugged it into his scroll. A window containing the files she had extracted appeared, and Ozpin read the various file names.

"I suppose we should start looking through these." As he copied the files to his scroll, he divided the group into teams meant to scour the information for anything relevant. "Ruby and Blake, you two- er, three, excuse me Miss Xiao Long- will obviously look through the file on your teammate's family. Qrow, Neo, and you three," he said, gesturing at the remnants of JNPR, "I want you to look over the White Fang Central Command file. I will look over their high value targets. Glynda, Hunter, and Marvin, you three need to see if there's anything important in that Grimm file."

As everyone broke up into their groups, each one quickly made their own discoveries. "We might have Weiss's location," Ruby cheered, before her eyes widened, "which means the White Fang might have her location! Professor Ozpin, we need to get going now!"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to join you," he replied, noticeably stiff, "there's something I must attend to immediately. I won't need the ship, so you may-"

"Hold it." Qrow interjected. "I think we'll be needing that ship if those girls don't need to get off the continent. Apparently, the White Fang's central command base in Vale, as well as numerous surrounding bases, went silent recently. That means it's totally undefended right now, but we'll have to move fast if we're going to find anything before they move in to secure it. Neo and I are best suited to this sort of thing, so if anyone left in JNPR knows how to fly they can take you in one of these airships."

Pyrrha raised her hand. "I can get us there."

"Good," Glynda said, "Because the White Fang have monitored some strange behavior from the Grimm. From the look of it, they have all be moving into a large cave system, one that hasn't ever been explored due to the concentration of Grimm. With such a large number of them converging on one location… something doesn't feel right about this. Marvin, Hunter, and I can search for the cause together."

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, it is probably for the best that I go alone, in this case. It seems we have made our decisions, then. Take whatever transportation you need from this base, better in our hands than the White Fang's. Good luck to all of you, return to Beacon when you've found what you're looking for."

The four parties dispersed, and set off in pursuit of their own objectives. _"Isn't it a bad idea to split up so much?"_

' _We don't have much of a choice, Yang. There are only so many of us. We've just gotta trust the others know what they're doing. Now, let's go find Weiss.'_

* * *

' _Climbing. Higher, the entrance is higher. Slipping means death, but it can't be helped. The entrance must be reached. Mistress would be displeased. Can't let Lady Salem down. Won't let Lady Salem down. Failure means punishment. Punishment worse than death. Must go higher._ '

The humanoid Grimm hooked its fingers onto the ledge and pulled. Instead of supporting its weight, the stone came loose and fell. Lupen pressed himself against the cliff face, trying to be as small a target as possible for the falling debris. A few pebbles bounced off the bone plating on his shoulders, but nothing more. Reaching up again, he tried his luck with the next handhold over. This one did not give way.

' _So close, do not fail now. Success will prove yourself. You must prove yourself. The lady has been generous. You've been spared twice. Even the mistress cannot forgive you again. Must go higher._ '

Heaving himself over the edge, Lupen gave himself no time to rest before returning to the treacherous climb. The mountain was tall, so very tall, but it had to be. Such a large being could only be hidden in so many places. Continuing the ascent, the Grimm found itself below a large overhang.

' _This is it. Last obstacle. Can't fail now, must succeed, must please mistress. Free servant and return to army. Next target dangerous, but must not fail. Cannot fail._ '

Jamming his razor-sharp claws into the rock, the beast hung from the overhang and slowly tried to reach the edge. Just as he grasped the rim, his other hand slipped. Left hanging by a single arm, the Grimm growled ferociously in pain as it struggled to keep its grip. Lupen pulled with all his might, and managed to get his other arm over as well. Having pulled himself to safety above the precipice, the creature finally took a moment to catch its breath.

' _Aches. Hurts all over. Pain. Cannot rest, cannot sleep. Must wake the servant, must make Lady Salem proud. Move._ '

Its goal clear in its mind, Salem's minion approached the pile of boulders. He could feel a slight breeze as wind flowed into the collapsed tunnel. Climbing atop the pile, he called upon all his strength in order to dislodge one of the rocks. Having shifted it enough to create a small hole, the Grimm slipped inside. It was dark, but he did not fear it. His night vision was superb, and something about it felt… _right_. It was comforting, welcoming.

' _Deeper, now. Find the servant, wake the servant. He has duties to fulfill, the mistress does not like waiting. Must please Lady Salem._ '

It did not take long to find the cavern. It was colossal, but almost all of it was filled by his target. Lupen crawled up the massive Grimm's side, then followed the spines on its back all the way to its head. Crawling past an eye the size of his torso, the faithful servant perched upon the Grimm's head. Placing a single, claw-tipped finger against a central point on its forehead where several red lines joined together, Lupen spoke in a deep growl. "The lady needs you, ancient one. Wake and serve your mistress. Your time has finally come again."

From his finger, the red lines shone crimson red, and the patterns across its gigantic head lit up. Then, at long last, the monster's six orange eyes crept open. "Come now, you must go to her. She has plans for you. She has plans for all of us. _Serve our lady._ "

As the great beast stirred, Lupen rushed to its back. He would never make it to the exit before the ancient servant broke free of its pen, so he instead gripped onto a boney spine on its back. With a shriek that reverberated across the mountains, and down to the sea, the wyvern cracked open the mountaintop, and burst into the brilliant moonlight.

' _Fear. I can smell their fear._ ' Lupen thought as he looked down at the walled city where the land met the water. ' _They are right to be afraid. Today may not be their reckoning, but the mistress will return with this servant. And they shall come down upon Vale in all their glory, and all their horror._ '

' _Lady Salem will be pleased._ '

* * *

 **And there we go. That was fun.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long-ass delay (I still can't believe that fucking file pulled a fucking magic act on me and vanished), I hope it was somewhat worth it! So yeah, the gang's splitting up to search for clues, they have a semi-** **anthropomorphic dog with them that's unusually intelligent, and I'm getting sued by Scooby Doo.**

 **Please remember to leave a review! I figure if you're this far in, either you're already following the story, or you won't be doing it any time soon. Also, if you're a guest who'd like to leave a review: While that's always welcome, too, I encourage you to set up an account so that I can actually respond to you and have a conversation. That's one of my favorite parts of this, and I'd love to get to interact with you guys more!**

 **That's all from me! See you next time you glorious bastards!**


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